‘Detrimental consequences’: QatarEnergy CEO warned against energy attacks on Iran

QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi says he repeatedly warned that any attack on Iran’s energy sites could put Qatar’s own gas infrastructure in danger.

“I was always warning, talking to executives from oil and gas that are partnered with us, talking to the US secretary of energy, to warn ⁠him of that consequence and that that could be detrimental to us,” Kaabi told Reuters news agency.

On Wednesday, Qatari officials said that Iranian missile strikes caused “significant damage” at Ras Laffan Industrial City, located 80km from the capital, Doha. The Qatari hub is responsible for a fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The site was already the subject of an attack on 2 March, which suspended production. Qatar was able to avoid any fatalities at the attacked Ras Laffan site because of its quick evacuation of personnel, al-Kaabi said.

Al-Kaabi also said that the company’s planned North Field expansion project, which aims to boost Qatar’s LNG production capacity by 2027, could be delayed by more than a year because of Iran’s attack on its Ras Laffan plant.

“No work is happening ⁠on the North Field expansion. There are no workers there. It’s definitely delayed,” Kaabi told Reuters news agency.  “I think it will be delayed for months, if not a year or more.”