QatarEnergy’s CEO warns repairs could take years and force the company to pause long-term supply deals.

What was hit

Iranian attacks damaged two of Qatar’s 14 liquefied natural gas trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids facilities. Those units sit at the Ras Laffan production hub, which was struck again this week.

How big is the damage?

  • Capacity lost: About 17 percent of Qatar’s LNG export capacity.
  • Production sidelined: Roughly 12.8 million tonnes of LNG per year.
  • Repair time: Expected to take three to five years to restore that output.
  • Financial hit: An estimated $20 billion in lost annual revenue, and damaged units cost around $26 billion to build.

Contracts, force majeure and who might feel it

QatarEnergy told Reuters it may have to declare force majeure on long-term LNG contracts lasting up to five years. The affected cargoes include shipments headed for Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China.

The company had already declared force majeure earlier after previous strikes on Ras Laffan. This latest damage raises the prospect of a much longer suspension unless hostilities stop and repairs can begin.

Regional ripple effects

The attacks came after an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars offshore gasfield. Tehran has since launched missiles and drones across the region. Officials say the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively blocked at times, a big deal because about one fifth of the world’s oil and LNG flows through that waterway.

Those disruptions have helped push petrol prices higher and added to global inflation worries. Arab Gulf neighbors have denounced the strikes on energy sites as violations of international law.

Words from the leaders

Saad al-Kaabi, CEO of QatarEnergy, expressed disbelief that Qatar would come under attack from what he called a brotherly Muslim country during Ramadan. He said the scale of the damage has set the region back between 10 and 20 years.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned his country would show "ZERO restraint" if its infrastructure is hit again, saying previous strikes used only a fraction of Tehran’s power and that restraint was chosen to help de-escalation efforts.

Qatar’s plea

Al-Kaabi urged that oil and gas facilities be left alone by all parties, arguing energy sites should not be targets in this conflict. He warned that until hostilities stop, production cannot safely restart and long-term supply commitments may remain suspended.