Explosion at Qatar gas facility injures 54 as crews search for 18
Qatar’s Interior Ministry said a technical malfunction caused the blast at Ras Laffan, with no dangerous leakage reported.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
2 min read
An explosion at Qatar’s main liquefied natural gas processing site injured 54 people and left 18 others missing, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said Monday. The incident at Ras Laffan Industrial City puts attention on a hub that Al Jazeera reported handles about one-fifth of global LNG supply.
The ministry said the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group was sent to look for the missing after what it described as an internal explosion. It attributed the blast to a technical malfunction, but did not give details on the equipment involved or the cause of the failure.
Authorities did not provide information on the condition of the injured people. The ministry had earlier said civil defence teams responding to the site had not recorded injuries, before later reporting the casualty figures.
The ministry said there was no leakage from the facility that would threaten public safety. It did not say whether operations at the site had been affected.
QatarEnergy, which administers Ras Laffan Industrial City, said emergency teams were deployed immediately after the explosion at the Barzan factory. The company said responders brought a fire at the facility under control.
Key gas export hub
Ras Laffan Industrial City is about 80km, or 50 miles, north of Doha, according to Al Jazeera. The industrial zone is home to the world’s largest LNG export facility, Al Jazeera reported.
Qatar is one of the world’s most important LNG suppliers, and disruption at Ras Laffan can carry consequences beyond the country’s borders. No government statement cited by Al Jazeera gave an estimate for repair work, output changes or shipment delays after Monday’s explosion.
The same industrial hub sustained significant damage in March after Iranian missile and drone attacks, the Qatari government said at the time, according to Al Jazeera. After those attacks, QatarEnergy invoked force majeure in some contracts, freeing itself from certain supply obligations.
Al Jazeera reported that the force majeure notices affected customers in Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China. Force majeure clauses are typically used when extraordinary events prevent a company from meeting contractual commitments, though QatarEnergy’s current statements on the latest blast did not announce such a step.
The Interior Ministry said search operations were under way for the 18 missing people. QatarEnergy said the immediate emergency response had contained the fire, while authorities said no hazardous leak had been detected.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.