54 injured, 18 missing after major explosion at Qatar's Ras Laffan natural gas hub

QatarEnergy said in a statement that an explosion and fire broke out at the Barzan local gas supply facility on Sunday during the start-up of operations.

Fifty-four people were injured and another 18 were missing after an explosion at Qatar's main LNG processing complex of Ras Laffan on Sunday, the Gulf nation's interior ministry said in a statement.

"A total of 54 people were injured in the incident that occurred at a factory in the Ras Laffan Industrial City," the ministry's statement on X said, adding that efforts were underway to trace 18 people who remained unaccounted for.

54 injured in Qatar LNG facility explosion

The interior ministry described the incident as an "internal explosion" and later said that a "technical malfunction" had caused the blast.

QatarEnergy said in a statement that an explosion and fire broke out at the Barzan local gas supply facility on Sunday evening during the start-up of operations at Ras Laffan Industrial City.

The company said emergency teams were sent to the site and that the blaze had since been brought under control.

The extent of the damage caused by the explosion is still unclear. Officials had initially said that only a few people were injured, but several hours later Qatar's interior ministry released a much higher count.

The explosion at the Ras Laffan industrial complex could add to the disruption already affecting global energy markets, as Qatar is one of the world's leading producers of natural gas.

The country had suspended production after Iran's restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz prevented shipments from reaching customers.

The Ras Laffan LNG facility in Qatar was already significantly affected during the US-Iran war after Iranian strikes on Gulf energy facilities forced Qatar to suspend gas production.

The Gulf nation, one of the world's biggest producers of liquefied natural gas along with the US, Australia and Russia, stopped liquefied natural gas production on 2 March after Iranian drone attacks struck major facilities.

At the time, Qatar's energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi said further damage caused by attacks on 18 March was expected to reduce liquefied natural gas export capacity by 17% and that repairs could take between three and five years.

Qatar is now working to bring Ras Laffan, the world's largest liquefied natural gas export facility, back into operation. Markets are closely watching the process, as a quick recovery could help bring down global energy prices.

The country aims to restore 80% of production at Ras Laffan within two months of the Strait of Hormuz reopening safely.