18 missing, 54 injured in blast at Qatar's Natural Gas Hub

DOHA: An explosion and a fire struck Qatar’s natural gas hub injuring 54 and 18 missing. The incident happened at Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial area last night. The accident happened when the plant was closed following the attack in Iran, was set to resume operations. 54 people were injured in the explosion. 18 people remain missing. The search for them is ongoing.

Reports say the explosion in Ras Laffan is expected to rock the global energy market again. Qatar had halted fuel production after Iran tightened its control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran eased restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz as talks to end the war progressed. Qatar has since begun efforts to restart the plant. The Qatari agency said the fire and explosion occurred at the Barzan Gas Supply Centre on Sunday night.

It is not clear how much damage has been caused. Initially, the official explanation was that only a few people were injured. However, hours later, more information about the injured and missing was released in figures by the Qatari Interior Ministry. It is reported that the Barzan plant produced about 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. The entire plant is owned by Qatar. ExxonMobil owns a small stake in the plant.