Iran attacks cut 17% of Qatar’s LNG capacity for 5 years: Qatar Energy | US-Israel war over Iran news

CEO Saad Al-Kaabi says Qatar Energy may have to declare a moratorium on long-term contracts of up to five years.

Iranian attacks on Qatar have destroyed 17 percent of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, costing it an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue and threatening supplies to Europe and Asia, the CEO of Qatar Energy says.

Two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains, equipment used to liquefy natural gas, and two of its gas-to-liquids facilities were damaged in an Iranian attack this week, Saad al-Kaabi told Reuters news agency on Thursday.

He said the repair would sideline LNG production by 12.8 million tonnes per year for three to five years.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that Qatar – Qatar and the region – would attack us like this in such an attack, especially in the month of Ramadan, from a brotherly Muslim country,” al-Kaabi said in an interview.

His comments came hours after Iran on Wednesday launched a series of attacks on oil and gas facilities across the Gulf region after the Israeli military bombed its South Pars offshore gasfield.

Tehran has been firing missiles and drones across the Middle East in response to the United States-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28.

It has essentially blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a critical Gulf waterway that transports a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG supplies, sparking global concerns about soaring petrol prices and rising inflation.

Iran’s attacks on energy infrastructure have raised tensions with its Arab Gulf neighbors, who have condemned the strikes as a violation of international law.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday his country would show “ZERO restraint” if its infrastructure was hit again, as an Israeli attack on the South Pars gasfield drew condemnation.

“Our response to Israel’s attack on our infrastructure has consumed part of our energy. The only reason for restraint is respect for the requested de-escalation,” Araghchi wrote in X.

“Any end to this war must address the damage to our civilian sites.”

‘Stay away from oil and gas facilities’

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Al-Kaabi said Qatar Energy may have to declare force majeure on long-term contracts of up to five years for LNG supplies bound for Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China because of the two damaged trains.

“I mean, these are long-term contracts that we will declare force majeure. We have already declared, but it is a short term. Now whatever the term is,” he said.

Qatar Energy declared force majeure on its entire production of LNG following an earlier attack on its Ras Laffan production facility, which came under fire again on Wednesday. “To resume production, first we need to stop the war,” Al-Kaabi said.

Al-Kaabi said the construction of the damaged units cost about $26 billion. The extent of the damage from the attack set the region back 10 to 20 years, he told Reuters.

“If Israel attacks Iran, it’s between Iran and Israel. It has nothing to do with us and the region,” he said.

“So now, with that, I’m saying everybody in the world, whether it’s Israel, whether it’s the U.S., or any other country, everybody should stay away from oil and gas facilities.”