QatarEnergy CEO said he warned of risks before Iran’s attack on Ras Laffan.
Qatar’s Minister for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy CEO Saad Al-Kaabi said he had repeatedly warned U.S. officials and industry partners about the risks of escalation with Iran, as attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure continue to disrupt the country’s liquefied natural gas operations.
Speaking to Reuters on Friday, Al-Kaabi said the damage to facilities at Ras Laffan, the world’s largest LNG complex, could affect supplies to Europe and Asia for up to five years.
“I was always warning… that that could be detrimental to us,” Al-Kaabi said, referring to the risks of targeting energy sites in the region.
The attacks have hit around 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, destroying key infrastructure, including cooling units used to process and liquefy gas.
Earlier this month, QatarEnergy evacuated around 10,000 workers from offshore facilities within 24 hours, preventing casualties but halting operations.
“It wasn’t easy to pull everybody… and shut down all the operations,” Al-Kaabi said, noting there were zero injuries or fatalities.
The disruption is also expected to delay the North Field expansion, a major project set to increase Qatar’s LNG output in the coming years. Al-Kaabi said the delay could last months, or more than a year, with no work currently taking place at the site.
The escalation follows strikes on Iran’s South Pars gas field, part of the same reservoir shared with Qatar’s North Field. Iran later responded with attacks targeting energy infrastructure across the Gulf, including Ras Laffan Industrial City.
Beyond the immediate damage, Al-Kaabi said the impact of the war is already being felt across the region, from trade and aviation to government spending.
“This has taken the whole region back 10-20 years,” he said.
The developments come as regional escalations continue to disrupt energy flows, raising concerns over longer-term supply to global markets.