Natural Gas in Focus: Iran Conflict Could Have ‘Very Painful’ Consequences

Exchanges

Goldman Sachs

Business

4.3 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2026

⏱️ 16 minutes

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Summary

While oil dominates headlines amid the Iran conflict, an equally unsettling story is playing out in natural gas markets that may pose an even greater threat. In this episode of Goldman Sachs Exchanges, Samantha Dart, co-head of Global Commodities Research, explains why the length of the Iran conflict could have a significant impact on natural gas prices. This episode was recorded on April 6th, 2026. The opinions and views expressed herein are as of the date of publication, subject to change without notice, and may not necessarily reflect the institutional views of Goldman Sachs or its affiliates. The material provided is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation from any Goldman Sachs entity to take any particular action, or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any securities or financial products. This material may contain forward-looking statements. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Neither Goldman Sachs nor any of its affiliates make any representations or warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the statements or information contained herein and disclaim any liability whatsoever for reliance on such information for any purpose. Each name of a third-party organization mentioned is the property of the company to which it relates, is used here strictly for informational and identification purposes only and is not used to imply any ownership or license rights between any such company and Goldman Sachs. A transcript is provided for convenience and may differ from the original video or audio content. Goldman Sachs is not responsible for any errors in the transcript. This material should not be copied, distributed, published, or reproduced in whole or in part or disclosed by any recipient to any other person without the express written consent of Goldman Sachs. Disclosures applicable to research with respect to issuers, if any, mentioned herein are available through your Goldman Sachs representative or at http://www.gs.com/research/hedge.html Goldman Sachs does not endorse any candidate or any political party. Copyright 2026. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	While oil is dominating the headlines in the wake of the Iran conflict,
0:09.0	there's an equally unsettling story unfolding in the natural gas markets.
0:14.0	I'm Alison Nathan and this is Goldman Sachs exchanges.
0:20.0	For today's episode, I'm sitting down with Samantha Dart, co-head of Global Commodities Research,
0:25.2	to talk about the implications of a natural gas shock, which may in some cases actually be more
0:30.9	damaging than an oil shock. Sam, welcome back to exchanges. Thanks for having me. So we have talked
0:36.9	a lot on this podcast about the impact
0:39.2	that the war in Iran is having on oil markets. But today I want to dig into the implications for
0:45.8	natural gas markets and liquefied natural gas, which is commonly referred to as LNG, because I think
0:53.1	it's actually an area that a lot of our listeners
0:55.2	underappreciate in terms of this conflict and in terms of its importance in the economy.
1:02.1	So let's just start at a high level. First, give us the basics. What makes natural gas markets
1:08.0	fundamentally different in how they respond to geopolitical shocks.
1:13.3	Yeah, I think the main difference is the seasonality of demand, the fact that you need so much of it
1:18.5	in the winter. And maybe we should take a step back and think, what do we use this thing for?
1:23.3	And there are three main uses. The first one you can think of is electricity generation.
1:28.3	Just you have a lot of utilities they have in the same way they have nuclear plants and coal plants.
1:33.3	They have natural gas run power plants.
1:35.3	You also have a lot of use of natural gas for industrial applications.
1:40.3	You can either use that directly as a feedstock into whatever you're producing, or what is
1:46.0	most common is to just use to generate heat and energy for the manufacturing processes.
1:51.7	And the thing that is used for the most is really heating in the winter.
	...

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