Following Iran's attack on Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG facilities, QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi warned of declaring force majeure on long-term contracts, including those with South Korea's KOGAS, as repairs to damaged production trains could take three to five years, sidelining 17% of export capacity. South Korean officials downplayed supply risks due to alternatives.
QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi provided new details on the damage from the Iranian strikes, telling Reuters that two LNG production trains (S4 and S6) and one gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility were hit, knocking out 12.8 million tons per year of LNG capacity—equivalent to 17% of Qatar's exports—for three to five years. This threatens $20 billion in annual revenue. Affected long-term contracts include supplies to Italy's Edison, Belgium's EDFT, South Korea's KOGAS, and China's EDFT and Shell. ExxonMobil holds stakes of 34% in S4 and 30% in S6.
Al-Kaabi stated, “These are long-term contracts that we have to declare force majeure... Now it's whatever the period is.” He emphasized, “For production to restart, first we need hostilities to cease,” warning the attacks have set the region back 10-20 years. Other exports will be impacted: condensate by 24%, LPG by 13%, helium by 14%, and naphtha and sulphur by 6%. The damaged units, costing $26 billion to build, follow Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure.
A South Korean presidential office official noted Qatari LNG accounts for about 14% of Seoul's imports this year, but “there is no problem in supply of gas because there are alternative sources.” Seoul will monitor Middle East tensions and consider naphtha export controls amid Strait of Hormuz risks for petrochemical stability.
