An explosion tore through Qatar’s key natural gas export terminal Sunday night as workers tried to resume operations after Iran bombed it during the war, causing a fire that killed at least 13 people and hurt 66 others.
The blast at the Ras Laffan industrial area could cause further chaos in global energy markets, as Qatar remains one of the world’s top natural gas producers. Qatar shut down its production after Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz meant it couldn’t get shipments out to clients.
With Iran loosening its grip as negotiations continue over a permanent end to the war, Qatar began work to try to restart its export terminal. That sparked the explosion and fire at the Barzan gas supply facility, state-run QatarEnergy said.
“I would like to emphasize that this was an accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature,” Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi told a news conference Monday afternoon in Doha, Qatar’s capital.
The minister gave the toll and said the dead came from India and Pakistan. The nationalities of the 66 injured included people from Qatar and a variety of African and Asian nations, Al-Kaabi said.
The scale of the damage remains unknown.
The Barzan plant had a capacity of almost 1.4 billion standard cubic feet of sales gas per day, which Qatar used primarily for local electricity generation and to power its crucial water desalination plants in the desert reaches of the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar owns nearly all of the plant, with a small share also held by ExxonMobil. The oil company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In March, an Iranian missile hit Ras Laffan, sparking a fire that caused “extensive” damage before it was extinguished, authorities said. Qatar had already halted production there because of Iranian attacks.
Qatar shares its massive offshore natural gas field in the Arabian Gulf with Iran. That natural gas production has made Qatar wealthy. It has used that money to raise its profile worldwide through hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, creating the Al Jazeera news network and funding its work as an international mediator, including the talks in Switzerland between Iran and the United States.