The Middle East war has damaged as much as $58 billion worth of energy infrastructure, according to an estimate published by consulting firm Rystad Energy on Wednesday.
Iran has attacked the oil and gas infrastructure of its Gulf Arab neighbors including production facilities, refineries and pipelines among other targets. Israel has bombed natural gas and petrochemical facilities in Iran.
More than 80 energy facilities have been attacked in all since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. More than a third of those are severely damaged, Birol said.
“This is one of the most critical issues and different than the past — many of the facilities are badly damaged,” the IEA chief said Monday at an Atlantic Council event in Washington, D.C. It could take as long as two years to repair facilities and restore oil-and-gas production to pre-war levels, he said.
At a minimum, the repair bill for any damage is at least $34 billion, Rystad estimated. The extent of the damage is still not clear at some facilities, the firm said. The final bill will depend on whether the damage to those assets is more limited or structural.
