Major blow to energy sector as Qatar gas facility hit

DOHA: Qatar has said that Iranian missile attacks have caused severe damage to gas facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City.

According to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, the Iranian attack sparked a fire that caused significant damage to a key gas facility. However, Qatar Energy and the Interior Ministry said the fire had been brought under control and no casualties were reported.

Qatar Energy later said in a statement that other LNG facilities were also targeted, causing further fire and damage.

Qatar has declared the attack a clear violation of its sovereignty and a threat to national security and has declared the military and security personnel of the Iranian embassy “persona non grata” and ordered them to leave the country within 24 hours.

The development comes as Iran has threatened to target oil and gas facilities in Gulf countries following its attack on Israel’s South Pars gas field.

Ras Laffan Industrial City is the world’s largest LNG production center, providing about 20 percent of the world’s gas supply, so there are fears that this attack will also have an impact on the global energy market.

On the other hand, French President Macron has contacted the Emir of Qatar and the US President and appealed to stop attacks on energy and civilian facilities.