Deadly Explosion at Qatar's Ras Laffan Gas Facility Kills 13, Injures 66

An explosion at Qatar's main gas processing facility inside its massive Ras Laffan industrial complex has killed at least 13 and injured 66 others.

Authorities said a "technical accident" occurred just two days after production restarted for the first time since 2025.

The explosion has been labelled one of the deadliest gas industry accidents in more than two decades.

Here's what we know.

What happened?

The explosion occurred on Sunday night, local time at the Barazan gas supply facility, which is inside the Ras Laffan industrial complex.

The government said at least 13 Indian and Pakistani workers were killed.

Saas al-Kaabi, Qatar's energy minister, told Al Jazeera the blast at the complex was a "technical malfunction" and not a "hostile" action.

No details on the condition of those injured have been provided by officials.

The blast took place at a unit supplying gas to local firms and reverberated across Doha, AFP is reporting.

Late Sunday, QatarEnergy said the fire had been brought under control after emergency response teams were deployed.

Plant production was halted in December 2025 due to maintenance requirements and was only restarted two days ago.

The wider industrial hub had been a target of Iranian missiles in March, which Qatari officials said caused several fires.

It was never confirmed by Iran, but it threatened to strike the facility after an Israeli attack on South Pars, the largest natural gas field in the world.

Why is it significant for the gas industry?

Ras Laffan Industrial city is 80km north of Doha and is the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export complex.

The deadly accident comes as hyrdocarbon-rich Gulf nations face challenges in boosting their output following Iranian attacks and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the export of oil and gas.

According to QatarEnergy, the Barzan facility could previously provide 1.4 billion standard cubic feet of sales gas per day to local power generation and water desalination plants as well as local industries.

Qatar, which shares the massive South Pars gas field with Iran, is one of the world's leading LNG producers alongside the United States, Australia and Russia.

Further damage from attacks on March 18 was expected to cut LNG export capacity by 17 per cent and take three to five years to repair, al-Kaabi said at the time.

Major importers including China, South Korea, Italy and Belgium were among nations most likely to be affected, the energy minister said in March.