While dismissing alternative pipeline routes as economically unviable, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Qatar’s state-owned oil and gas giant QatarEnergy has highlighted that the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) player remains fully committed to maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz, even as facility repairs following recent attacks at Ras Laffan Industrial City face a multi-year timeline.
Following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, QatarEnergy halted LNG production and associated products at some of its assets and issued a declaration of force majeure to its LNG buyers. A major plot twist came with Iran’s warning about its planned attack on oil and gas facilities across the Gulf region in direct response to Israel’s attack on its giant South Pars gas field, which is known as the North Field on Qatar’s side. Ras Laffan Industrial City was hit by missiles on March 18, 2026.
The company’s CEO, who recently rejected the notion that the Strait of Hormuz was obsolete, emphasizing that the waterway handles trade in all products to and from all adjacent countries, has stressed the need for normal movement across the Strait.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said: “We are grateful for our neighbors who have welcomed us to use their territories. However, not everything can be transported via pipelines. The problem is that LNG, our main export commodity, cannot be transported by pipelines.
“We will have to transport it by pipelines as gas and then liquify it at receiving terminals wherever that may be. This means we are building redundant facilities to the ones we are already building in Qatar as part of the North Field expansion project. This makes no economic sense.”
As a result, the company has decided not to use pipelines as an alternative based on commercial and technical criteria. At the Qatar Economic Forum 2026, which was held in New York, the CEO of the Persian Gulf state’s giant pointed out that the attacks on Ras Laffan resulted in damage to two LNG trains and a GTL plant.
While commenting on this damage to Qatar’s gas production facilities and a possible return to production, he added: “Repairs on the GTL train will be concluded in the first quarter of 2027.
“However, it will take three years for repairs on the two LNG trains. As for resuming operations, Qatar is ready to resume normal operations within a few weeks of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.”
When asked about reports that Qatar was buying LNG volumes from the market, Al-Kaabi referred to the announcement from 2024, when the company stated its intention to build one of the largest LNG trading organizations.
QatarEnergy’s CEO added: “I would like to mention today that, in the very near future, we will be the largest LNG trader in the world by far. And we’re building our position to become the largest trader.”
Regarding QatarEnergy’s projects in the United States, Al-Kaabi noted the start of shipments from the first train at Golden Pass LNG, and underlined: “We expect next year to have both the second and third trains in full operation.
“We are also building the largest ethane cracker in the world at the Golden Triangle Polymers project. The project has started its commissioning process as we speak. It should be starting up in the next few weeks.”
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