Multiple Injured in Explosion at Qatar's 'LNG Heart' Ras Laffan; "Accident During Start-up"

An internal explosion has occurred at the Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, the world's largest hub for liquefied natural gas (LNG), leaving several people injured.

According to AFP on the 21st (local time), the Qatari Ministry of Interior announced that an explosion caused by a "technical incident" took place at the Ras Laffan industrial complex earlier that day, resulting in a number of injuries.

The ministry added, "Following a technical incident, an internal explosion occurred at one of the plants within the Ras Laffan industrial complex," and noted that the Civil Defense forces were deployed to manage the scene.

However, the Qatari Ministry of Interior did not provide further details regarding the circumstances of the accident or the exact number of casualties.

AFP reported that flames and a column of smoke were visible from a location 20 kilometers south of the industrial complex.

In relation to this, the facility operator, QatarEnergy, explained that "an accident occurred during the start-up of operations at Ras Laffan Industrial City," which led to an explosion and fire at the Barzan local gas supply facility.

The Ras Laffan Industrial City is the world's largest LNG hub, where natural gas produced from nearby offshore fields is brought in, liquefied, and exported globally.

Spanning an area of 295 square kilometers, the complex houses not only LNG processing facilities but also various gas and oil-related infrastructure, including LNG storage facilities, condensate separation plants, and refineries.

The explosion appears to have occurred during the process of restarting facilities at the Ras Laffan complex, which had been suspended following attacks by Iran.

Amid the war between the United States and Iran that began in late February, the Ras Laffan industrial complex suffered significant damage from successive drone attacks by Iran, leading to a suspension of operations.

At that time, the state-owned company QatarEnergy declared "force majeure," stating that it could no longer fulfill existing LNG contracts.

Back then, QatarEnergy projected that the Iranian attacks on the Ras Laffan complex would reduce Qatar's total LNG export capacity by 17% and that it would take 3 to 5 years to restore the destroyed facilities.

Qatar is the world's third-largest LNG exporter.

The Ras Laffan industrial complex, considered the "LNG heart" of Qatar, has accounted for approximately 20% of the global LNG supply.

It is known that 90% of the LNG produced there is destined for the Asian market.

According to statistics from the Korea International Trade Association, South Korea imported a total of 6.97 million tons of LNG from Qatar last year, accounting for 14.9% of its total LNG imports (46.72 million tons).

This is the third-largest volume, following Australia (31.4%) and Malaysia (16.1%).

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.