Doha, March 19 (QNA) - HE Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the Managing Director and CEO of QatarEnergy, Eng. Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi has revealed that Iranian attacks disrupted 17 percent of Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, causing losses estimated at approximately USD 20 billion in annual revenue and threatening supplies to Europe and Asia.

In an interview with Reuters, His Excellency stated that two out of 14 LNG processing units, in addition to one of the two gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants, were damaged by these attacks.

He indicated that repair work will halt the production of 12.8 million tons of LNG annually for a period ranging from three to five years.

He added: "It never crossed my mind, not even in my worst nightmares, that Qatar, Qatar and the region, would be subjected to such an attack, especially from a sisterly Muslim country during Ramadan, and in this manner."

His Excellency explained that QatarEnergy may be forced to declare 'force majeure' on long-term contracts of up to five years for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China, due to the damage to the two processing units.

He said in this context: "I mean, these are long-term contracts, and we have to declare force majeure on them. We have already declared it, but for a shorter period. Now, it will be for as long as necessary."

He also noted that the American company ExxonMobil is a partner in the affected LNG facilities, holding a 34 percent stake in the S4 LNG processing unit and a 30 percent stake in the S6 unit.

His Excellency further explained that the cost of constructing the damaged units is approximately USD 26 billion. He said, "To resume production, we first need the fighting to stop."

QatarEnergy had declared force majeure on its entire liquefied natural gas production after previous attacks on its production facility in Ras Laffan. (QNA)