Sienne

The numbers don’t lie: energy infrastructure is burning across the planet at a pace that defies coincidence. In the space of just a few weeks we’ve seen major hits and mysterious explosions on refineries, export terminals, power plants and LNG complexes from Russia to the Gulf, Australia to Mexico, India to Texas. Russian crude distillation units and export terminals lit up under Ukrainian drone strikes. Australia’s Geelong refinery turned into a war zone with an “unprecedented” inferno. Mexico’s Olmeca complex at Dos Bocas caught fire again. Romania’s power grid took a blow. India’s boiler explosions and refinery incidents piled on. Even Texas saw another refinery related blast. And that’s before you get to the Gulf. South Pars and Asaluyeh in Iran were struck hard in March. Then came the retaliatory wave: Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi, Qatar’s Ras Laffan, Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura, the UAE’s Ruwais all taking direct or debris damage from Iranian strikes and counter-strikes. Some are openly admitted drone and missile attacks in the active wars with Iran and Russia. Others arrive wrapped in the polite language of mysterious industrial accidents or equipment failure. Either way, the timing is curious and suspect. These facilities are catching fire and exploding right as the Iran war has already doubled fuel prices and tightened global supply lines to breaking point. The empire that launched this round of chaos is now watching its own energy arteries and those of its proxies bleed at the exact moment it needs them most. Whether it’s hybrid sabotage or simply natural, one thing is clear: the world’s energy backbone is taking hits it cannot absorb. So is it mere coincidence when you take into account active wars or is this all by design?
This is the cost of playing with fire on a planetary scale. And the full bill hasn't even arrived yet.