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A major expansion of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas capacity is set to be postponed until at least 2027 after drone strikes forced an unprecedented shutdown at the country’s main export hub, reports said.
The disruption occurred at Ras Laffan, the centerpiece of Qatar’s LNG industry, where operations were halted following Iranian drone attacks on energy infrastructure last week. The shutdown has pushed back progress on the North Field East development, one of the largest LNG expansion projects currently underway.
The North Field East expansion is designed to add 32 million tons per year of LNG production capacity and forms part of a broader wave of new supply expected to enter global markets over the remainder of the decade, aimed at lifting Qatar’s production toward 142 million tons per year by 2030.
Production from the North Field East facility had already faced delays earlier this year, when the project timeline shifted toward the end of 2026.
The first LNG exports from the facility could still begin early next year if the Ras Laffan shutdown lasts no longer than about a month, sources familiar with the situation told Bloomberg. However, a longer disruption tied to escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf could extend the delay further, the report suggested.
Qatar remains a central player in the LNG market, accounting for around 20% of global exports and shipping 82.2 million tons in 2025. Any delay to the North Field East project could slow the increase in global LNG supply that analysts expect later in the decade.
The production halt in Ras Laffan added further pressure to global natural gas markets, which were already reacting to disruptions linked to the Iran conflict. European gas prices surged, with futures at the Dutch TTF hub doubling to €63.75 ($73.64) per megawatt-hour at their peak. Prices later eased to around €53 before climbing again by more than 15% to about €61.8 on Monday.
In addition to LNG output, QatarEnergy also halted production of several downstream industrial products at affected facilities, including urea, polymers, methanol and aluminum.
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