Iran's attacks have paralyzed about 17% of Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, causing estimated damage of 20 billion USD per year and threatening supply to Europe and Asia, said QatarEnergy CEO and Qatar Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi.
According to Mr. Saad al-Kaabi, 2 of Qatar's 14 LNG production lines and 1 of Qatar's 2 gas-to-liquid (GTL) facilities were damaged in unprecedented attacks from Iran on the 18-19 days. 3. The repair will cause about 12.8 million tons of LNG per year to be interrupted for 3-5 years.
I never thought that Qatar - and the region - would suffer such an attack, especially from a fraternal Muslim nation during Ramadan," Mr. Kaabi said.
According to the minister, QatarEnergy will soon have to declare force majeure for long-term LNG supply contracts to Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China for a period of up to 5 years due to damage to 2 lines.
Mr. Kaabi assessed that the scale of damage from the attacks has caused the area to decline by 10-20 years, while shaking the image of a "safe haven".
If Israel attacks Iran, it is between the two sides, not related to us and the region," Mr. Kaabi said, while calling on all parties, including Israel and the United States, to stay away from oil and gas facilities.
Previously, QatarEnergy also declared force majeure for all LNG production immediately after Iran's airstrikes on the Ras Laffan production center - the country's largest gas facility.
The State of Qatar strongly condemns and opposes Iran's blatant attack on Ras Laffan, which caused fires and serious damage to this facility," the Qatari Foreign Ministry announced on March 18.
Although no casualties were recorded, QatarEnergy confirmed on March 19 that many other LNG facilities were also attacked, causing large fires and increasingly serious damage.
The impact does not stop at LNG. Qatar's condensate exports are forecast to decrease by about 24%, LPG by 13%, helium by 14%, and naphtha and sulfur by about 6%.
For its part, Iran said that the attacks targeting the Gulf energy facility were retaliation after its gas infrastructure was attacked by the US and Israel, and targeted targets linked to Washington.
Spokesman for the Unified Command of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mr. Ebrahim Zolfaqari, warned that this is a "new phase of the war" and will continue to escalate if their energy facilities are attacked again.
