Explosion as Qatar restarts gas export terminal hurts 54 and leaves 18 missing

An explosion at Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial area injured at least 54 people and left 18 missing after a fire erupted as workers attempted to restart operations, according to reports. The blast happened Sunday night at the Barzan gas supply facility, QatarEnergy said, hours after it began recovery work following damage attributed to Iran during the war. Qatar shut down production earlier because shipments were disrupted while Iran exerted pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, and it later began restarting exports as negotiations continued. The Barzan plant’s capacity is nearly 1.4 billion standard cubic feet of sales gas per day, used mainly for local electricity and to power major water desalination plants. Qatar owns almost all of the facility, with a small stake held by ExxonMobil. The incident could further disrupt global energy markets.