QatarEnergy did not indicate whether the explosion had caused any damage to the plant, which supplies gas to the domestic market
An explosion at Qatar’s giant Ras Laffan LNG complex killed 13 Indian and Pakistani workers and injured 66 others during the restart of operations halted following an Iranian attack in March, Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said on Monday.
Qatar’s energy minister said on Monday that the deadly gas plant explosion on Sunday night at the Barzan local gas supply facility was the result of an accident and that it would not affect the country’s exports.
“I find myself today having to do something I have always hoped will never happen, and that is to announce, the tragic loss of 13 lives of our people who hold Indian and Pakistani nationalities. 66 people have been reported injured and are receiving medical treatment, none of whom are in life-threatening condition,” he told reporters.
Qatar, which hosts a major US military base, has come under repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks during the Iran war, which trapped around 20% of global LNG supply in the Gulf before some shipments began to resume recently.
Qatar’s Energy Ministry said in a statement that the plant’s export capabilities were unaffected and there was no risk to the environment.
QatarEnergy did not provide details on where in the plant the explosion took place or the extent of the damage, but Saad al-Kaabi, QatarEnergy’s CEO and Qatar’s energy minister, said an investigation had started into the incident.
The blast rattled windows and was felt across central Doha, panicking residents more than 70 kilometres from Ras Laffan.
Ram-up challenges
The incident highlights the challenges Gulf producers face in ramping up oil and gas production from facilities shut in during the Iran war.
Qatar has been among the hardest hit by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as it has no alternative routes to export its LNG.
Restarting LNG operations is particularly complex due to a deliberate slow cooldown to avoid thermal shock. LNG trains cannot restart simultaneously and must be brought back in sequence.
In the liquefaction process, which turns gas into a liquid state by cooling it down to approximately minus 162 degrees Celsius (minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit), the cooldown is the most critical step.
The facility is located in Ras Laffan Industrial City, QatarEnergy’s site for LNG production and export, with an annual production capacity of 77 million metric tons.
An Iranian missile attack in March struck two of its key gas-processing units, slashing about 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, which QatarEnergy’s CEO told Reuters would take three to five years to repair.
The war also forced the company to evacuate about 10,000 workers from offshore rigs and onshore processing plants. The company reported no injuries during the March missile attack.
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