The Indian embassy has denied claims of any Indian deaths in Qatar. According to AFP, several explosions were heard in Doha on Monday as Gulf countries reported new attacks as Iran continued its retaliatory attacks in the Middle East.
Doha has faced repeated waves of Iranian drones and missiles since Tehran launched a broad retaliatory campaign across the Persian Gulf following US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Meanwhile, Qatar’s defense ministry said on Monday that its forces had successfully intercepted a missile attack.
“We hereby clarify that no such announcement has been made by the Embassy of India in Qatar. We have no reports of Indian deaths in Qatar in the ongoing conflict. We hope and pray for the safety of all,” the embassy responded to the now-deleted post.
Qatar’s LNG expansion plan delayed until at least 2027
Meanwhile, QatarEnergy has delayed the start of a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) expansion project until at least 2027 after last week’s drone attack forced the unprecedented shutdown of its plant in Ras Laffan Industrial City.
Production from the North Field East development is now expected to head for its first export early next year, assuming the outage at Ras Laffan does not last more than a month, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the details are not public.
But if the shutdown continues longer as tensions rise in the Persian Gulf, the start of production could be pushed back even further, they added.
The expansion is part of Qatar’s contribution to the record increase in new global LNG supplies expected for the rest of the decade. Delays at the North Field East facility, which has an annual capacity of about 32 million tonnes, could also delay an expected glut in the LNG market.
Qatar has previously pushed back the project’s timeline to the end of this year in early February. The exact reason for the delay was unclear, although large energy projects are often delayed just before commissioning to allow time for engineering or technical issues to be resolved.
Qatari Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi told the Financial Times last week that the expansion could face delays, but did not give a specific time frame. The project is part of a large wave of new LNG shipments expected to enter the global market in the coming years.
