Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to TASS on why and how long the LNG production in Qatar was stopped and what this means for the global LNG market.
According to the expert, Qatari LNG is produced on 14 technologically independent liquefaction lines built at different times. However, all of them are located close to each other on the coastline, and represent a single huge industrial cluster with common nodes for energy, industrial water and gas supply.
For Qatar's economy, a protracted war is the darkest possible scenario, since none of the Persian Gulf countries will potentially suffer as much as this emirate, Belogoryev stressed."From what little is known, the impact was not on the production sites, but on their common technical gas distribution units in Ras Laffan and the reservoir of process water providing turbine cooling systems in Mesaid. It is unclear how serious the damage is. But it is most likely that it is local and quickly removable," Belogoryev said, adding that technically such damage can be repaired in a few days.
"But the resumption of work can already be restrained purposefully: in order to reduce the expediency and, consequently, the threat of a secondary impact (LNG plants are objects of the highest degree of danger according to the international classification, there is something to explode there). In addition, there is a suspicion that Qatar's political leadership may use the simultaneous withdrawal of 18% of its global supply from the LNG market (an absolutely extraordinary event) to put pressure on the international community in order to stop the war," he believes.
"Like all neighboring countries, Qatar hopes that Iran's strike potential will be quickly exhausted and the threat of attacks on infrastructure facilities will be lifted," the expert concluded.
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