Full story
Ras Laffan blast kills 13
An explosion at Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City killed 13 workers and injured 66 others as workers tried to resume operations at the Barzan gas supply facility on Sunday night.
“An explosion at Qatar’s main liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing facility has killed 13 people and injured dozens”
Qatar’s energy minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said the blast was caused by a “technical malfunction” and that it was “not an act of sabotage,” while QatarEnergy said emergency response teams deployed immediately brought the fire under control.
The interior ministry said early Monday that 54 people were injured and 18 others were missing after the explosion, while other outlets and officials put the injured figure at 66.
NBC News reported the blast at the Ras Laffan industrial area could cause further chaos in global energy markets, as Qatar remains one of the world’s top natural gas producers and Qatar shut down production after Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz meant it couldn’t get shipments out to clients.
Officials rule out sabotage
At a news conference in Doha on Monday afternoon, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi emphasized that the blast was an accident and told reporters, “I would like to emphasize that this was an accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature.”
The BBC similarly quoted al-Kaabi saying, “this was an accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature,” and reported that the government was working on determining the cause of the blast at the Barzan local gas supply facility.
The BBC said the explosion rattled windows and was felt across central Doha, panicking residents more than 70km (43 miles) from Ras Laffan, while the UPI report said the blast turned the city’s skyline orange and was felt by residents more than 43 miles away.
The Embassy of India in Doha said in a social media post, “We convey our deepest condolences to the families of those who have unfortunately passed away in the sad incident at Ras Laffan Industrial City last night,” and the Times of India reported that 12 Indians were among the 13 killed.
Exports and restart timelines
QatarEnergy and Qatar’s ministers said the explosion would not affect LNG exports, with the BBC reporting al-Kaabi said the blast would not affect the country’s exports and with Daily Sabah saying the incident had no impact on liquefied natural gas export operations, main facilities, or Ras Laffan Port.
“Fifty-four people were injured and 18 are missing after an explosion at Qatar's massive Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex, which occurred as workers were restarting operations halted after an Iranian attack in March”
The BBC also said it would be difficult to determine when operations would resume, quoting al-Kaabi that “Plant production was intentionally completely stopped since December 2025 due to urgent maintenance requirements, it was first restarted again only two days ago.”
CNBC reported that the Interior Ministry said 54 people were injured and rescue teams were looking for 18 missing people, while QatarEnergy did not say whether the explosion had caused any damage to the plant that supplies pipeline gas to local industry and Qatar’s power generation sector.
The stakes extend beyond the immediate blast because the BBC said QatarEnergy confirmed required repairs to the facility would reduce output by 12.8m tons of LNG for three to five years, and the Middle East Eye reported that in March Iranian missile strikes damaged two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquid facilities, wiping out 17 percent of Qatar’s LNG export capacity.
