Qatar says Iran attacked LNG hub; UAE shuts gas facilities
By Yomna Ehab and Jaidaa Taha
March 18 (Reuters) - Qatar's state oil giant QatarEnergy said on Wednesday that Iranian missile attacks on Ras Laffan, the site of the country's core LNG processing operations, caused "extensive damage", while the UAE shut gas facilities after intercepting missiles early on Thursday.
The attacks came hours after Iran issued evacuation warnings for several oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, as it prepared retaliation following strikes on its own energy infrastructure in South Pars and Asaluyeh.
QatarEnergy, the world's second-largest LNG exporter, said in a statement that its emergency response team were deployed immediately to contain fires caused by the attack. No casualties were reported and all personnel were accounted for, it added.
Qatar's interior ministry earlier said the fire was preliminarily brought under control, with no injuries reported.
Ras Laffan, located 80 km north of Doha, is an energy-industry hub and hosts several international companies.
In the UAE, authorities said they were responding to incidents at the Habshan gas facilities and at the Bab oil field caused by falling debris from intercepted missiles.
The gas facilities were shut down and no injuries were reported, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said.
The Habshan complex, operated by Abu Dhabi state oil giant ADNOC, is one of the world's largest gas processing facilities, comprising five plants with a total capacity of 6.1 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd), according to ADNOC.
'PERSONA NON GRATA'
Qatar's foreign ministry told Iran's security and military attaches to leave the country within 24 hours and declared them "persona non grata".
In a statement, the ministry condemned the attack on Ras Laffan as a "direct threat" to its national security and accused Iran of taking an "irresponsible approach."
Saul Kavonic, head of research at Australia's MST Marquee, said attacks on Ras Laffan "could cause a lasting global gas shortage, but this won't pressure the Trump administration because the U.S. benefits economically from high global gas prices".
The Laffan refinery primarily processes condensate into refined products including aviation fuel.
(Reporting by Yomna Ehab, Jaidaa Taha and Marwa Rashad, Editing by Nick Zieminski and Cynthia Osterman)
