An explosion at Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City, the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) hub, injured several people. As reports said the accident occurred while restarting facilities that had been shut down by Iran's attack, concerns over renewed disruptions to global LNG supplies are resurfacing.
According to AFP, Qatar's Interior Ministry said on the 21st (local time) that "an internal explosion occurred due to a technical issue at a factory in Ras Laffan Industrial City," and that "civil defense units were immediately deployed to the scene and are carrying out response operations." Authorities confirmed there were injuries but did not disclose the exact scale or the cause of the accident.
AFP reported that huge flames and a column of black smoke were observed even in an area about 20 km from the industrial city. QatarEnergy, which operates the facility, said the accident occurred during the process of restarting gas supply equipment. The company said, "An explosion and fire occurred during the startup of the Barzan gas facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City."
Ras Laffan Industrial City is the world's largest LNG production and export base, located on Qatar's northeastern coast. It liquefies natural gas extracted from nearby offshore fields and exports it worldwide. Spanning 295 ㎢, it concentrates key energy infrastructure, including LNG liquefaction plants and storage, condensate separation facilities, and refineries.
The explosion is said to have occurred while restarting facilities at Ras Laffan Industrial City that had been shut down by Iran's attacks. During the war between the United States and Iran in February, Ras Laffan Industrial City suffered significant damage from multiple Iranian drone attacks, after which operations were halted. At the time, QatarEnergy said the attack reduced the country's total LNG export capacity by about 17% and declared "force majeure." It also projected that fully restoring the destroyed facilities would take at least three years and up to five years.
Qatar is currently the world's No. 3 LNG exporter. In particular, Ras Laffan Industrial City is regarded as a key hub that accounts for about 20% of global LNG supply. About 90% of the LNG produced is shipped to Asian markets, including Korea, Japan and China.
Korea also relies significantly on Qatari LNG. According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), last year Korea imported 6.97 million tons of LNG from Qatar. That amounted to 14.9% of total LNG imports, making it the third-largest source after Australia and Malaysia.