An explosion at Qatar's Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas complex killed 18 workers as the facility was restarting after the war, the country's energy minister said. The minister stressed the incident was an accident, not an act of aggression or sabotage. A portion of the plant had been bombed by Iran during the war, requiring years of repairs and leaving capacity at 80% for an extended period.
The full extent of damages and operational impact remains unclear, with officials saying it will take time to assess. The blast is expected to further strain the already tight global LNG market at a vulnerable moment. European gas prices, as measured by TTF futures, have edged up but remain well below wartime peaks.
In a separate development, the United States issued a waiver for Iranian oil sales, though details were not immediately available. The combination of Qatar's reduced LNG output and the Iran waiver could influence global energy supply dynamics in the coming months.