An oil refinery in Qatar. (symbol image)Image: EPA
March 18, 2026, 10:01 p.mMarch 18, 2026, 10:20 p.m
Drones from Iran hit energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening. QatarEnergy, a Qatari state-owned oil and gas company, said on X that its Ras Laffan energy center suffered “significant damage” from missile attacks on Wednesday. “All employees are safe and no casualties have been reported so far,” the liquid gas producer added.
QatarEnergy Statement on Missile Attacks on Ras Laffan Industrial City
QatarEnergy confirms that Ras Laffan Industrial City this evening has been the subject of missile attacks.
Emergency response teams were deployed immediately to contain the resulting fires, as extensive…
— QatarEnergy (@qatarenergy) March 18, 2026
The post from the gas company QatarEnergy.
Iran announced the attacks just hours before. These are retaliatory measures for the attacks on its energy production since the beginning of the almost three-week-old war.
The warnings targeted the Mesaieed Petrochemical Complex, the Mesaieed Holding Company and the Ras Laffan Refinery in Qatar; the Samref refinery and Jubail Petrochemical Complex in Saudi Arabia; and the Al Hosn gas field in the United Arab Emirates.
Violation of sovereignty
In one Explanation Qatar’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned “the brutal” Iranian attacks on the industrial city of Ras Laffan. “Qatar views this attack as a dangerous escalation, a blatant violation of its sovereignty and a direct threat to its national security,” it said.
Qatar, which is normally one of the largest exporters of natural gas, halted liquefied natural gas production on March 2 after the same facility in Ras Laffan and a water tank at a power plant in the industrial town of Mesaieed were attacked.
Earlier in the day, airstrikes hit Iran’s largest natural gas well, South Pars. Iran’s energy supplies are also hit. As BBC reported, Iran has already completely cut off its gas supplies to Iraq.