Qatar Gas Plant Blast: 18 Missing, Dozens Injured

By Staff, Agencies

At least 54 people have been injured and 18 are missing after an explosion at Qatar’s Barzan gas processing facility, the Interior Ministry said.

"The total number of people injured in the accident at one of the plants in the Ras Laffan industrial area stands at 54,” Qatar’s Ministry of Interior wrote in a post published on the social media platform X on Sunday.

The post further said that the Internal Security Force’s Lekhwiya search-and-rescue team, together with the Civil Defense Department, is conducting operations to locate 18 missing people.

The ministry attributed the explosion to a "technical accident" and said there was no threat to public safety. It did not indicate whether the explosion had caused any damage to the plant, which supplies gas to the domestic market.

Residents in several districts of Doha reported unusual tremors on Sunday evening resembling an earthquake.

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 capacity to produce ethane, condensate, liquefied petroleum gas and sulfur for domestic and export markets.

Ras Laffan Industrial City is Qatar’s primary site for liquefied natural gas [LNG] production and export, with a total production capacity of 77 million metric ​tons per annum via 14 trains.

Barzan gas processing facility Qatar’s Ministry of Interior Ras Laffan industrial area Civil Defense Department