QatarEnergy confirms ‘considerable damage’ to Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas complex after attack

The oil company QatarEnergy confirmed this Wednesday “considerable damage” following a missile attack by Iran against the Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas complex after the Iranian Revolutionary Guard ordered the area to be evacuated due to possible “counterattacks.”

“Emergency response teams have been deployed immediately to contain the fires, as the damage was considerable. All personnel are safe and, so far, no casualties have been reported,” the company said in a brief message posted on social media.

Specifically, the Defense Ministry has detailed that five ballistic missiles have been launched from Iran, although four of the projectiles have been intercepted by its forces. A fifth fell in the industrial city of Ras Laffan, 80 kilometers north of Doha, sparking a fire that has already been controlled by Civil Defense teams, as confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior.

For its part, the Qatari Foreign Ministry has “strongly” condemned the brutal Iranian attack on Ras Laffan, which has caused “fires and serious damage to facilities.” “It considers this attack a dangerous escalation, a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State and a direct threat to its national security and the stability of the region,” he added.

In this sense, he has reiterated that this is “an irresponsible approach that undermines regional security and threatens international peace.” “The State of Qatar reserves the right to respond, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and with the right to self-defense guaranteed by International Law,” he argued.

This comes after the Revolutionary Guard ordered the evacuation of five energy facilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Saudi Arabia as “legitimate targets”, warning that there will be “counterattacks” in the coming hours, shortly after authorities reported an attack on the South Pars gas field.

Among them, in addition to Ras Laffan, were the Saudi Samref refinery, the Emirati Al Hosn gas field, the Saudi Jubail petrochemical complex, as well as the Qatari Mesaied petrochemical complex, together with the Chevron subsidiary Mesaieed Holding Company.