Qatar is grieving the loss of 13 workers following an explosion and fire at the Barzan local gas supply facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City on June 21. The fatalities were among employees of Indian and Pakistani nationalities. An additional 66 individuals from a range of countries, including Qatar, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Nepal, sustained injuries. According to Minister of State for Energy Affairs HE Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi, who is also president and CEO of QatarEnergy, none of the injured are in life-threatening condition.
In remarks delivered the day after the incident, al-Kaabi extended condolences to the families, colleagues, and friends of those who died, and offered prayers for the recovery of those injured. He affirmed QatarEnergy’s commitment to supporting all those affected by the tragedy.
The minister described the event as an operational accident rather than an act of sabotage or hostile activity. He noted that the Barzan plant had been undergoing urgent maintenance since December 2025 and had only resumed operations two days prior to the explosion. The subsequent fire was rapidly contained and extinguished by QatarEnergy’s Emergency Response Team in cooperation with Qatar Civil Defence.
Al-Kaabi emphasized that QatarEnergy’s wider liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, including Ras Laffan Port and associated logistics, continue to operate normally. He reassured that Qatar possesses sufficient gas supplies from other projects and capabilities to compensate for the loss, with no anticipated impact on exports or domestic consumption.
Regarding the extent of infrastructure damage and projected repair timelines, al-Kaabi distinguished the Barzan incident from a previous attack on QatarEnergy’s LNG trains at Ras Laffan. Unlike the earlier event, which involved specialized cryogenic units requiring three to five years for replacement, the Barzan facility’s damages and restoration efforts are expected to differ, though specific timelines were not provided.