By Stephen Stapczynski, Ruth Liao, and Salma El Wardany (Bloomberg) — Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi is experiencing a significant crisis in his career.
As the energy minister of Qatar, a small Gulf nation that provides about 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG), he has established the country as a reliable energy supplier. In a volatile region, Qatar has maintained its gas production and shipping even during crises, thanks to advanced facilities and a large fleet of tankers. Al-Kaabi has always assured buyers that Qatar is the most dependable supplier globally.
This assurance was put to the test on Monday when a regional crisis escalated, leading Al-Kaabi to break his promises after an Iranian drone attack shut down the country’s main LNG operation for the first time in nearly 30 years.
According to Ira Joseph, a senior research associate at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, “The Qatari shutdown is unprecedented in scale and scope. In the short term, it will force those needing LNG to bid up prices for U.S. cargoes. Long term, it will change how buyers view Qatar in terms of supply security.”
The Ras Laffan plant accounts for roughly 20% of global LNG supply. This situation developed over a few days of bad news, starting when the U.S. and Israel began military strikes against Iran over the weekend.
Initial concerns caused tanker owners to hesitate about passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage into the Persian Gulf and the only route to Ras Laffan. As ship traffic slowed, exports began to decrease, and staff reported that gas storage was quickly filling up, jeopardizing full production.
Currently, trade through the strait is effectively suspended.
On Monday, an Iranian drone, part of a series of retaliatory attacks across the region, struck Ras Laffan. Workers were evacuated, and Al-Kaabi decided to suspend operations at the facility after multiple discussions with industry leaders.
Buyers were caught off guard and rushed to find alternative supplies, pushing European gas prices up more than 50%. This marked the most significant single-day increase since Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago.
QatarEnergy has not commented on the situation.
Stopping production is not a decision made lightly. Qatar has maintained output during past crises, such as providing additional gas to Japan after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and offering extra supplies to Pakistan in 2022 when other suppliers canceled shipments due to rising gas prices. Qatar has traditionally required buyers to sign long-term contracts that last decades, with strict terms regarding resale and often higher prices compared to competitors, all to ensure a reliable supply.
The full extent of the damage at Ras Laffan remains unclear, and the confrontation is still ongoing. However, many in the industry are beginning to doubt Qatar's reliability.
In 2025, China accounted for nearly 25% of Qatar's LNG exports.
Saul Kavonic, an energy analyst at MST Marquee, commented, “The long-held perception that Qatar LNG deserves a premium in terms and price is now shattered. LNG customers, especially in Northeast Asia, will have to reassess their supply sources and consider increasing options outside the Middle East.”
LNG is Qatar's most crucial resource, transforming the country into the wealthiest economy in the region per capita, despite having smaller oil reserves than its neighbors. This wealth has granted Qatar significant diplomatic influence, especially during the blockade from 2017 to 2021, which strained relations with neighboring countries. Its independent foreign policy, along with cordial ties with Iran, added to the shock of the recent attack.
As the CEO of QatarEnergy, Al-Kaabi is a key player in the global LNG market. He began his career at Qatar Petroleum in 1986 while studying engineering at Penn State. Over the years, he significantly contributed to the country's transformation into a leading LNG exporter since 1997.
In addition to domestic projects, QatarEnergy is collaborating with Exxon Mobil Corp. to launch a massive LNG export facility called Golden Pass at the Texas-Louisiana border. The company also has investments in Argentina and Egypt.
Al-Kaabi is recognized in the industry for his firm stance against non-cooperative partners. Japan, which was once a major Qatari LNG buyer, shifted its purchasing to U.S. LNG after allowing contracts to lapse instead of renewing them. This shift came at a time when Japan was crucial to Qatar’s LNG growth in the 1990s.
In 2022, during a conference in Tokyo, Al-Kaabi noted that Qatar was no longer “a major LNG supplier to this pioneering market.”
Al-Kaabi has also expressed frustration with Europe’s environmental initiatives, even threatening to halt flows to the European market due to regulations that he believes unfairly target fossil fuel producers. He advocates for gas as a transitional fuel to help countries move away from coal and balance renewable energy demands. Qatar plans to nearly double its LNG exports by the early 2030s, with major expansions expected to begin by late 2026.
However, Qatar needs to secure buyers for this increase under its terms. Current contracts only cover about 60% of the planned production expansion, excluding volumes from Qatar's upcoming U.S. LNG project, which is on the verge of launching without a comprehensive customer base.
There are also more competitors in the market, including the U.S., the largest global supplier. Unlike Qatar, most U.S. LNG contracts are flexible, and their prices are tied to U.S. domestic benchmarks, which have plummeted to multi-year lows.
Without long-term contracts for all anticipated gas, Qatar is exploring LNG trading options and recruiting talent from around the globe.
This situation has become more challenging due to the recent strikes.
Ras Laffan, which describes itself as an “industrial city,” is a massive complex with an onshore LNG plant roughly twice the size of Central Park. Halting operations here is a complex task.
Shutting down involves careful adjustment of multiple systems to reduce strain on the equipment. This usually takes about 12 hours, according to Mehdy Touil, a former LNG specialist at Calypso Commodities who worked at Ras Laffan.
Restarting the facility will also require time and will be done gradually to prevent overloading the systems, as it cannot be done all at once and must follow a specific sequence.
The facility has faced crises before, such as the blockade from 2017 to 2021, when four nations severed ties with Qatar. During that time, gas workers in Qatar experienced shortages of basic staples like meat and dairy.
Currently, QatarEnergy's trading team is racing to secure alternative shipments to meet delivery obligations.
Al-Kaabi has been personally reaching out to executives in Beijing to reassure them, as China is a crucial partner, and fulfilling commitments is vital for QatarEnergy's reputation. He has historically taken pride in never missing “a single cargo delivery,” as he stated during a 2022 meeting with Europe's energy commissioner amid rising tensions over Ukraine.
“Keeping our contractual commitments is sacred in Qatar,” he emphasized.