At least 13 people lost their lives and 66 others sustained injuries following an explosion at Qatar's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on Sunday night . The incident occurred at the Barzan local gas supply facility, located within Ras Laffan industrial zone, as workers were in process of restarting operations that had been halted since March .
The explosion, described by Qatar's Interior Ministry as a "technical accident," sent shockwaves throughout central Doha, with residents reporting rattling windows even 70 kilometers away. The blast illuminated the city’s skyline with a bright orange glow, raising immediate concerns among the local population.
Qatar's Energy Minister, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi,reassured that explosion would not disrupt the country’s LNG exports . He emphasized that the incident was not the result of sabotage or hostile actions. "This was an accident," he stated,adding that government is actively investigating cause of the explosion. Al-Kaabi noted that there were no environmental risks associated with the blast .
The minister confirmed that all fatalities involved workers from India and Pakistan. In response, the Embassy of India in Doha expressed its condolences and stated it was in close contact with Qatari authorities to assist the families affected by tragedy. "We convey our deepest condolences to the families of those who have unfortunately passed away in sad incident at Ras Laffan Industrial City last night," the embassy posted on X.
Emergency response teams were deployed swiftly to manage the situation,and fire has since been brought under control. However,the energy minister indicated that it remains uncertain when operations at the facility will resume. plant had only restarted operations two days prior to the explosion after being completely shut down for urgent maintenance since December 2025.
The Ras Laffan Port,recognized as the largest artificial harbor globally,is also home to the world’s largest LNG export facility. Earlier this year,it faced Iranian strikes during the ongoing conflict involving the U.S. and Israel, which had caused extensive damage. QatarEnergy,the state-owned energy company,stated that repairs needed from those strikes could lead to a reduction in LNG output by 12.8 million tons over the next three to five years.
As the investigation into the explosion unfolds,the incident underscores the vulnerabilities faced by Gulf economies amid regional tensions. Qatar,a significant player in the global energy market, had recently begun to resume LNG shipments after a production halt that affected a fifth of the world's LNG supply.
