QatarEnergy: Iran attacks remove nearly 1/5 of natural gas capacity for years - report
QatarEnergy may declare force majeure on LNG supplies to Italy, Belgium, Korea and China, with losses of about $20 billion a year, Reuters reports
Qatar could face years of reduced natural gas exports after Iranian strikes damaged key energy infrastructure, wiping out a significant share of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity, QatarEnergy’s chief executive told Reuters.
Saad al-Kaabi said the attacks disabled two LNG production units out of 14 and one gas-to-liquids facility out of two, reducing output by about 17% at a time when Qatar sits at the heart of global gas supply.
He said the affected facilities alone account for roughly 12.8 million tonnes of annual LNG production, and warned repairs could keep them offline for three to five years depending on security conditions and technical recovery timelines.
The disruption is expected to result in about $20 billion in annual revenue losses, he added, marking one of the most costly supply shocks the company has faced.
Kaabi said the situation may force QatarEnergy to reassess its contractual obligations with several long-term buyers, including Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China. He said the company could be compelled to invoke force majeure, a contractual provision used when extraordinary events prevent delivery, for extended periods if outages persist.
QatarEnergy, one of the world’s largest LNG exporters, has been regarded as a stable cornerstone of global gas supply, especially for Europe and Asia, where LNG imports have become increasingly critical following shifts in global energy flows.
Beyond LNG, Kaabi said the damage will also hit other output streams, including condensate, liquefied petroleum gas, helium, naphtha and sulphur, reflecting broader industrial disruption across the site.
He added that restoration of production would depend on a stabilisation of the security situation, saying operations cannot fully resume while hostilities continue.
The affected assets include projects built at an estimated cost of $26 billion and developed in partnership with international energy companies, including U.S. major ExxonMobil.