Qatar gas facility explosion kills 13, injures 66 in 'technical accident'
Energy Minister rules out sabotage following explosion at Barzan facility, which had recently resumed operations after a maintenance shutdown and prior damage from Iranian strikes.
At least 13 people have been killed and 66 injured following an explosion at the Barzan local gas supply facility within Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial zone on Sunday night. The incident, described by Qatar’s interior ministry as a "technical accident," has triggered an investigation into the cause, with Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi confirming that the blast was not sabotage or hostile in nature.
The victims have been identified as nationals of India and Pakistan. The Embassy of India in Doha stated it is in constant contact with Qatari authorities and has pledged to assist the families of those affected. The blast was felt across central Doha, more than 70km away, where it rattled windows and caused panic among residents, while the city’s skyline turned orange due to the fire.
QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company, confirmed that emergency teams were deployed immediately to contain the fire, which is now under control, and that there are no environmental risks. However, the timeline for the resumption of full production remains uncertain. Minister al-Kaabi noted that plant production had been intentionally halted since December 2025 for urgent maintenance and was only restarted two days prior to the explosion.
The facility had previously sustained extensive damage from Iranian strikes earlier this year during the US-Israel war with Iran. QatarEnergy stated that the required repairs to the facility would reduce output by 12.8 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for three to five years. This follows a period where Qatar had paused a fifth of the world's LNG supply in response to the regional conflict, with shipments recently beginning to resume.
Ras Laffan Port, the site of the explosion, is the world's largest artificial harbour and houses the largest LNG export facility globally. As a major supplier of global energy, the ongoing damage to the facility underscores the long-term economic risks facing Gulf economies amid the regional conflict. An investigation into the specific technical cause of the accident is ongoing.
