Qatar LNG Hit by Attack: 17% Export Capacity Lost, $20 Billion Wiped Out

On March 19 (local time), Qatar—one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG)—was struck by missile attacks, causing severe damage to multiple facilities in its core energy hub, Ras Laffan Industrial City.

According to QatarEnergy CEO Saad Al-Kaabi, the attack dealt a direct blow to the “heart” of the country’s energy system. Two out of 14 LNG production trains were destroyed, and one of the two gas-to-liquids (GTL) facilities was forced offline. As a result, 17% of the country’s export capacity has been wiped out, translating into an estimated annual revenue loss of $20 billion.

Qatar supplies roughly 20% of the world’s LNG. This disruption effectively represents a physical reduction in global energy supply. More critically, repair work is expected to take three to five years, during which approximately 12.8 million tonnes per annum of LNG capacity will remain offline. Long-term contracts with multiple countries—including China, South Korea, and parts of Europe—may be disrupted, with Qatar preparing to declare force majeure on some deliveries.

The impact extends far beyond LNG itself. As a major integrated energy exporter, Qatar’s output of several associated products will also be affected. Condensate exports are expected to decline by around 24%, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 13%, helium production by 14%, and both naphtha and sulfur by approximately 6%. The shock is therefore spreading from the gas sector into the broader chemicals and industrial raw materials chain.

While this is not the first time energy infrastructure has been targeted, the scale and duration of this incident make it particularly significant. The damage directly affects national-level production capacity, with recovery measured in years rather than weeks or months. Given Qatar’s role as a key pricing anchor in the global LNG market, the event has rapidly escalated from a regional disruption into a global energy issue.

Looking ahead, the market response is largely predictable. Natural gas prices are likely to react first, especially in the Asian spot market. This will likely be followed by intensified competition for alternative supplies, with Asian buyers turning to the United States and Australia. The impact will then cascade downstream, affecting chemicals, power generation, and manufacturing costs—particularly in regions with high energy dependence.