54 injured, 18 missing after explosion at Qatar LNG site, authorities say

Fifty-four people have been injured, and another 18 were missing after an explosion at Qatar's core LNG processing site of Ras Laffan on Sunday, authorities said.

An incident during the start-up of operations at Ras Laffan Industrial City resulted in an explosion and fire at the Barzan local gas supply facility on Sunday evening, QatarEnergy said in a statement.

Emergency response teams were deployed to contain the fire, which was now under control, it added.

The explosion was attributed to a "technical accident", and said there was no leak that posed a threat to public safety.

It said the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group, in cooperation with the civil defence teams, was conducting search operations for the 18 missing people.

QatarEnergy did not indicate whether the explosion had caused any damage to the plant, which supplies gas to the domestic market.

A Reuters witness earlier reported that a loud boom was heard in the capital, Doha, south of the Ras Laffan facility.

بلغ إجمالي عدد المصابين في الحادث الذي وقع بأحد المصانع في منطقة رأس لفان الصناعية (54) شخصاً، فيما تباشر مجموعة البحث والإنقاذ القطرية الدولية التابعة لقوة الأمن الداخلي (لخويا)، بالتعاون مع فرق الدفاع المدني، عمليات البحث عن (18) شخصاً مفقوداً.#الداخلية_قطر

— وزارة الداخلية - قطر (@MOI_Qatar) June 22, 2026

The Barzan gas facility has a capacity of 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), and supplies pipeline gas to local industries and Qatar's power generation sector.

It also has the capacity to produce ethane, condensate, liquefied petroleum gas, and sulphur for domestic and export markets.​

The facility is located in Ras Laffan Industrial City, QatarEnergy's primary site for LNG production and export, with a total production capacity of 77 million metric ​tonnes per annum via 14 trains.

Two of Qatar's LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids facilities were damaged in strikes amid the US-Israeli war with Iran, knocking out 17 per cent of the country's LNG export capacity, with repairs expected to take years.