Dozens Dead and Injured in Blast at Qatar's Largest Gas Facility

A major explosion rocked Qatar’s primary liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing site in Ras Laffan on Sunday night, claiming the lives of at least 13 individuals and injuring 66 others. The incident occurred at the Barzan local gas supply facility, causing the city’s skyline to erupt in orange light and rattling windows as far as central Doha, over 70km away.

Qatar’s Energy Minister, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, quickly addressed the incident, assuring the public that it was an accident, not an act of sabotage. He confirmed that the deceased were primarily from India and Pakistan, and the Indian Embassy in Doha has been in contact with Qatari authorities to provide assistance to the affected families.

While emergency response teams successfully contained the fire, the full impact on operations is still being assessed. The facility had recently resumed operations after being halted for urgent maintenance since December 2025. Al-Kaabi indicated that determining when operations would fully restart could be challenging.

QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company, confirmed the blast happened during the restart of operations. Preliminary assessments suggest that repairs could reduce LNG output by approximately 12.8 million tons annually for three to five years. This incident follows a period where Qatar had previously halted production, impacting a significant portion of global LNG supply.

https://nilepost.co.ug/news/350587/at-least-13-killed-and-dozens-injured-after-qatar-gas-explosion