Qatar is mourning the tragic loss of 13 lives following the June 21 explosion and fire at the Barzan local gas supply facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City.
The deceased were of Indian and Pakistani nationalities, while 66 others of Qatari, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Kenyan, Ghanaian, Tanzanian, Nigerian, and Nepalese nationalities sustained injuries. None of the injured are in life threatening condition, according to Minister of State for Energy Affairs His Excellency Saad bin Sherida al Kaabi.
Speaking to the media Monday, al Kaabi, who is also president and CEO of QatarEnergy, extended condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those who lost their lives.
Al-Kaabi said QatarEnergy extends its heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those who lost their lives, and prays for the swift recovery of those injured. QatarEnergy pledges its full support to those affected by this tragedy, he also said.
The minister stressed that the incident was an operational accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature. He explained that the Barzan plant had been shut since December 2025 for urgent maintenance and was restarted only two days before the accident.
“The fire was quickly and fully extinguished by QatarEnergy Emergency Response Team and Qatar Civil Defence,” he noted.
Despite the tragedy, al Kaabi emphasised that QatarEnergy’s LNG facilities, Ras Laffan Port, and logistical operations remain unaffected.
“We have ample supplies of gas to make up for the loss from different projects and different capabilities that we have. So we don’t see any shortage. It will not affect anything regarding exports. It will not affect anything regarding our local requirements,” he said.
Clarifying damage assessment and repair timelines, al Kaabi differentiated the Barzan incident from the earlier attack on QatarEnergy’s LNG trains at Ras Laffan, which involved proprietary cryogenic units requiring “three to five years” to replace.
“It’s a different gas plant and a different area of the plant that was damaged,” he explained, underscoring QatarEnergy’s commitment to transparency in announcing definitive timelines once investigations are complete.
He also dismissed concerns about environmental impact, confirming that “there is no loss of containment and there’s no environmental impact.”
In its official statement, QatarEnergy said work is underway to assess the damage to Barzan and neighbouring facilities. It reiterated that LNG facilities, Ras Laffan Port, other logistics operations, and export capabilities remain unaffected as a result of the explosion and fire.
