Missile strikes cut 17% of Qatar’s LNG exports, force majeure may last up to five years

QatarEnergy says 12.8 MTPA output offline, force majeure likely on long-term contracts

• Missile attacks cut Qatar LNG exports by 17 percent
• Damage may take up to five years to repair
• Annual revenue loss estimated at $20 billion

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Missile attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City have reduced the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity by 17 percent and are expected to result in an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue loss, Minister of State for Energy Affairs & QatarEnergy’s CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said on March 19.

Providing an official update, Al-Kaabi said the damage to production facilities would take up to five years to repair and would compel the company to declare long-term force majeure on some LNG contracts.

QatarEnergy said the strikes, which occurred on March 18 and in the early hours of March 19, would impact supply to markets in Europe and Asia.

Qatar state-owned LNG giant QatarEnergy has published a statement detailing the overnight damage, providing more granularity (particularly around the damage of the GTL plant). pic.twitter.com/MMZHWkvGoQ

— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) March 19, 2026

12.8 MTPA of LNG output offline after strikes

The attacks damaged two LNG production units, Trains 4 and 6, taking offline 12.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of production, representing approximately 17 percent of Qatar’s exports.

Train 4 is a joint venture between QatarEnergy (66 percent) and ExxonMobil (34 percent), while Train 6 is owned by QatarEnergy (70 percent) and ExxonMobil (30 percent).

Al-Kaabi said the disruption would affect key importing countries including China, South Korea, Italy and Belgium.

Force majeure to extend up to five years

“The damage sustained by the LNG facilities will take between three to five years to repair,” Al-Kaabi said, adding that QatarEnergy would be “compelled to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts.”

In an interview with Reuters, Al-Kaabi said the company had already declared force majeure on its output following earlier attacks on Ras Laffan and would extend it depending on the duration of disruption.

“These are long-term contracts that we have to declare force majeure… now it’s whatever the period is,” he said.

Pearl GTL facility also hit, one train offline for a year

The attacks also targeted the Pearl gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility, operated by Shell, which converts natural gas into cleaner fuels and base oils.

Al-Kaabi said one of the facility’s two trains is expected to remain offline for a minimum of one year, with damage still being assessed.

Associated product output to decline

QatarEnergy said the outage would reduce production of several associated products:

Condensates: 18.6 million barrels (~24 percent of exports)

LPG: 1.281 million tonnes (~13 percent)

Naphtha: 0.594 million tonnes (~6 percent)

Sulfur: 0.18 million tonnes (~6 percent)

Helium: 309.54 MCFA (~14 percent)

Attacks follow escalation in regional conflict

Al-Kaabi said the strikes on Qatar’s energy infrastructure followed attacks on Iranian gas facilities earlier, with Iran subsequently targeting Gulf oil and gas installations.

“I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that Qatar would be… in such an attack,” Al-Kaabi told Reuters.

He added that production cannot resume fully until hostilities cease.

Global LNG supply chain under strain

Qatar is one of the world’s largest LNG exporters, and the loss of 12.8 MTPA of capacity represents a significant disruption to global supply.

The affected LNG trains supply buyers including Italy’s Edison, Belgium-based EDF Trading, South Korea’s KOGAS, and buyers in China.

ExxonMobil holds a 34 percent stake in Train 4 and a 30 percent stake in Train 6, while Shell is a partner in the Pearl GTL facility.