Ras Laffan hit hard
Iranian missile strikes damaged Qatar’s Ras Laffan facilities, knocking about 17% of export capacity offline and setting a multi‑year production shortfall — analysts warn the damage could last five years. (x.com) That hit has already rattled gas markets and increases pressure on nearby logistics nodes in the UAE and RAK that handle LNG and petrochemical flows. (x.com)
Iranian missiles struck Ras Laffan on March 18–19, damaging two liquefaction trains (Trains 4 and 6) and a gas‑to‑liquids unit and putting about 12.8 million tonnes per year of LNG production out of service. (bloomberg.com) Train 4 and Train 6 are joint ventures with ExxonMobil (Train 4: Exxon 34% / QatarEnergy 66%; Train 6: Exxon 30% / QatarEnergy 70%), exposing international partners to the outage on assets built at multibillion‑dollar cost. (offshore-technology.com) QatarEnergy has put a dollar figure on the disruption — roughly US$20 billion in annual revenue at stake — and the company has declared force majeure across LNG output while its CEO warned production cannot resume until hostilities stop. (bloomberg.com) Qatari authorities say there were no casualties from the strikes, and Doha has expelled Iran’s military and security attaches as persona non grata in response to the attacks. (thepeninsulaqatar.com) Market analytics show immediate supply shock: specialist tracker Kpler and others estimate double‑digit millions of tonnes of LNG removed from markets through the coming months and a sharp rerating of European and Asian gas prices, while carriers and insurers are applying new war‑risk premiums. (kpler.com) Nearby Gulf logistics nodes are already adjusting — Ras Al Khaimah ports have announced a marine‑risk surcharge for all calls, and cargoes are being diverted to Gulf‑of‑Oman terminals such as Fujairah and Khor Fakkan as major lines update operational advisories. (lloydslist.com)
