Explosion and fire at Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas facility injure several
Why it matters: The blast hit the world’s largest LNG hub as Qatar was still recovering from war damage that had already cut export capacity.
An explosion and fire injured several people on June 21 at a gas facility in Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, authorities and QatarEnergy said. Qatar’s interior ministry described the incident as an internal explosion caused by a technical malfunction, and said civil defense teams were responding. QatarEnergy said the blast happened during the start-up of operations at the Barzan local gas supply facility in Ras Laffan. AFP journalists in Doha heard the blast, and flames and smoke were visible from about 20 kilometers south of the site. Ras Laffan is home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas hub and had already suffered damage during the recent war involving the United States, Israel and Iran.