Qatar says Iranian missile strikes cut LNG export capacity by 17%
Damage at Ras Laffan may take up to 5 years to repair, with annual revenue losses estimated at $20 billion and force majeure likely on some long-term contracts, QatarEnergy says
Facilities of QatarEnergy are seen in the Mesaieed Industrial Area south of Doha, Qatar on March 5, 2026. QatarEnergy announced it had declared force majeure and suspended production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and related products, informing its customers of the decision through a statement shared on the X platform.
Istanbul
Qatar said Thursday that Iranian missile attacks on the Ras Laffan Industrial City reduced the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity by 17%, with the damage expected to cost about $20 billion a year in lost revenue and take up to five years to repair.
State-owned QatarEnergy said on the US social media company X’s platform that the damage was caused by missile strikes that hit the industrial city Wednesday and in the early hours of Thursday, affecting supplies to markets in Europe and Asia.
“I am relieved to confirm that no one was injured by these unjustified and senseless attacks, which weren’t just an attack on the State of Qatar but attacks on global energy security and stability,” said Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi.
The company said the attacks damaged LNG Trains 4 and 6, with a combined production capacity of 12.8 million metric tons per annum, representing about 17% of Qatar’s exports.
Train 4 is a joint venture between QatarEnergy, which holds 66%, and ExxonMobil, which owns 34%, while Train 6 is jointly owned by QatarEnergy with a 70% stake and ExxonMobil with 30%, according to the statement.
Al-Kaabi said the damage to the LNG facilities would take between three and five years to repair, forcing the company to declare long-term force majeure on some LNG contracts.
“The impact is on China, South Korea, Italy and Belgium. This means that we will be compelled to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts,” he said.
The attacks also targeted the Pearl GTL facility, a production-sharing project operated by Shell that converts natural gas into cleaner-burning fuels as well as base oils, paraffins and waxes.
QatarEnergy said one of Pearl GTL’s two trains is expected to remain offline for at least one year while damage assessments continue.
The company also warned of losses in associated product output because of the outage, including 18.6 million barrels of condensates, or around 24% of Qatar’s exports, 1.281 million tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), equal to about 13% of exports, and 0.594 million tons of naphtha, representing around 6%.
It also forecast losses of 0.18 million tons of sulfur and 309.54 MCFA of helium, each accounting for around 6% and 14% of Qatar’s exports, respectively.
The development comes amid a joint US-Israeli offensive on Iran that began on Feb. 28 which has killed around 1,300 people so far.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel along with Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.
QatarEnergy previously declared force majeure earlier this month to affected buyers after halting production of LNG and related products following Iranian drone strikes.
