QatarEnergy has confirmed that missile attacks on Ras Laffan Industrial City on March 18–19 caused extensive damage to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas-to-liquids (GTL) facilities, reducing the country’s LNG export capacity by 17% and leading to an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue losses.
Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, stated that damage to LNG Trains 4 and 6—joint ventures with ExxonMobil—has affected production amounting to 12.8 million tonnes per annum.
Repairs are expected to take between three and five years, forcing QatarEnergy to declare long-term force majeure on some contracts. This is likely to disrupt supply to countries including China, South Korea, Italy, and Belgium, as well as broader markets across Europe and Asia.
The attacks also struck the Pearl GTL facility operated by Shell, disabling one of its two production trains for at least a year.
Associated product losses include condensates (18.6 million barrels, 24% of exports), LPG (1.281 million tonnes, 13%), naphtha (0.594 million tonnes, 6%), sulfur (0.18 million tonnes, 6%), and helium (309.54 MCFA, 14%).
Minister Al-Kaabi confirmed that no casualties were reported and described the strikes as “an attack on global energy security and stability.” He also praised Qatar’s military, security forces, and energy sector emergency teams for their swift response in containing the situation.
