Blast at Qatar LNG Site Injures 54, Missing 18

Reuters 

Doha: An explosion at Qatar’s giant Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex injured 54 people and left 18 others missing on Sunday, according to authorities. The incident occurred as workers were restarting operations that had been disrupted following an Iranian missile attack earlier this year.

Qatari officials described the incident as a “technical accident” at the Barzan gas supply facility and stressed that there was no threat to public safety.

The powerful blast shook buildings and rattled windows across central Doha, more than 70 kilometres from the industrial site, alarming residents throughout the capital.

In a statement, Qatar’s Interior Ministry said 54 people were injured and search-and-rescue teams were continuing efforts to locate 18 missing individuals. Emergency crews were immediately deployed, and authorities later confirmed that the resulting fire had been brought under control.

State-owned QatarEnergy has not yet disclosed whether the explosion caused significant damage to the facility. The Barzan plant supplies natural gas to domestic industries and Qatar’s electricity sector, while also producing ethane, condensate, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and sulphur for local use and export.

The incident comes amid ongoing regional tensions linked to the Iran conflict. Qatar, which hosts a major US military base, has faced repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks during the war.

The country has also been heavily affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as it lacks alternative export routes for its LNG shipments. The disruption temporarily stranded nearly 20 percent of global LNG supplies in the Gulf before maritime traffic gradually resumed.

The affected facility is located within Ras Laffan Industrial City, QatarEnergy’s main LNG production and export hub, which has an annual output capacity of 77 million metric tonnes.

In March, Iranian missile strikes hit two key gas-processing units at Ras Laffan, reducing Qatar’s LNG export capacity by approximately 17 percent. QatarEnergy Chief Executive Saad al-Kaabi previously told Reuters that repairs to the damaged infrastructure could take between three and five years.

The conflict also forced QatarEnergy to evacuate around 10,000 workers from offshore platforms and onshore processing facilities. Despite the extensive damage caused by the March attack, the company reported no injuries at that time.

The cause of Sunday’s explosion remains under investigation.