Qatar LNG Update: Gas production will resume after drone attack, Prime Minister gave time of few weeks

There has been a big relief news regarding gas production in Qatar. Preparations have started to bring the halted LNG production back on track due to the drone attack. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani has announced that production will return to normal within the next few weeks.

This entire matter is related to the drone attack on Ras Laffan Industrial Complex on 28 February 2026. Due to this attack, QatarEnergy had to stop work due to security reasons. In this attack, two of Qatar’s 14 LNG plants and one gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant were significantly damaged. Due to this, the country’s total gas export capacity was reduced by 17%. Plants that are damaged may take several years to fully recover.

Strait of Hormuz and the US-Iran agreement

The Prime Minister informed on 22 and 24 June 2026 that the production in the plants which are safe will soon become normal. This decision comes after an interim agreement between the US and Iran, which has reopened the Strait of Hormuz. The Prime Minister stressed that it is necessary to have a hotline between the US and Iran so that threats can be properly investigated and the passage of ships remains safe.

Recent incident and withdrawal of ships

On 22 June 2026, an explosion and fire occurred during the resumption of work at the Barzan plant in Ras Laffan. QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida al-Kaabi clarified that it was a technical glitch, not an attack. He said that this will not affect gas production.

It is reported that on June 23, 2026, four big LNG tankers have again entered the Strait of Hormuz. However, it may take a few more weeks for traffic to become completely normal as the work to remove landmines from the sea is still being done.