Technical Incident Triggers Explosion at Qatar's Ras Laffan Gas Plant, Several Injured

A ‘technical incident’ triggered an explosion at the Ras Laffan industrial zone in Qatar on Sunday (21/6), the country’s interior ministry confirmed, leaving several people injured. “An internal explosion occurred at one of the factories in the Ras Laffan Industrial Area following a technical incident,” the ministry stated, adding that civil defence teams had begun handling the incident. The sound of the blast was heard by AFP journalists in Doha. In a follow-up statement, the ministry explained the ‘technical malfunction’ had ‘caused a number of casualties,’ though authorities did not specify the exact number of victims or the severity of their injuries. From 20 kilometres south of Ras Laffan, located on Qatar’s northern coast, an AFP journalist saw flames lighting up the night sky accompanied by plumes of smoke rising from the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) hub. State-owned QatarEnergy said the explosion occurred ‘during the recommencement of operations at Ras Laffan Industrial City, resulting in an explosion and fire at the local Barzan gas supply facility.’ Although Qatari authorities stressed the explosion was purely due to an internal issue, the Ras Laffan industrial centre itself had previously sustained severe damage from the recent war between the United States, Israel, and Iran. Iranian attacks during that conflict targeted energy infrastructure in the Gulf region, including Ras Laffan, forcing Qatar to halt its gas production. The small emirate, one of the world’s leading LNG producers alongside the US, Australia, and Russia, had suspended LNG production on 2 March after Iranian drone strikes hit its critical facilities. Qatar’s Energy Minister, Saad Al-Kaabi, stated at the time that further damage from an attack on 18 March was expected to cut LNG export capacity by 17 per cent, requiring three to five years for repairs.