An explosion and fire struck the Barzan gas facility in Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City on Sunday night. The incident injured at least 54 people and left 18 workers missing.
State-owned QatarEnergy confirmed the blast occurred during start-up operations. Workers were preparing to resume production following recent regional conflicts and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Barzan facility maintains a production capacity of 1.4 billion cubic feet per day. This disruption introduces fresh supply-side risks to the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market.
International benchmark Dutch natural gas prices rose early Monday in response to the news. The incident complicates a planned ramp-up of Middle East energy production intended to lower global prices.