Ras Laffan attacks slash Qatar’s LNG exports, Hitting Asia and Europe

QatarEnergy, the country’s state-owned petroleum company, 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 Qatar’s LNG export capacity by 17% and resulting in an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue losses.

Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, said the damage to LNG Trains 4 and 6, joint ventures with ExxonMobil, amounts to 12.8 million tons per annum of production.

Repairs are expected to take three to five years, forcing QatarEnergy to declare long-term force majeure on some contracts, with impacts on supply to China, South Korea, Italy, and Belgium, as well as impacting supply to markets in Europe and Asia.

The attacks also struck the Pearl GTL facility operated by Shell, disabling one of its two trains for at least a year.

Associated product losses include condensates (18.6 million barrels, 24% of exports), LPG (1.281 MT, 13%), naphtha (0.594 MT, 6%), sulfur (0.18 MT, 6%), and helium (309.54 MCFA, 14%).

Minister Al-Kaabi noted that no casualties were reported, describing the strikes as “an attack on global energy security and stability.”

He praised Qatar’s military, security forces, and energy sector emergency teams for their swift response in containing the situation.