QatarEnergy CEO says warned US, industry officials against attack on energy

“They were aware of the threat, and they were always reminded by me, almost on a daily basis, that we need to make sure that there is restraint on oil and gas facilities,” al-Kaabi, who is also Qatar’s energy minister, said.

Since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February, missiles and drone attacks have targeted tankers, refineries and other important energy infrastructure.

In retaliation for an Israeli attack on Iran’s South Pars gasfield on Wednesday, Tehran conducted a series of attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

But as US President Donald Trump said that he was unaware of the Israeli attack on the South Pars gasfield ahead of time, al-Kaabi said they were also unaware that it was going to take place.

He explained that the attack on the facilities would impact LNG deliveries to Europe and Asia for up to five years, adding that it had taken out 17 percent of Doha’s export capacity.

“The cold boxes are gone,” he said, referring to the cooling mechanism that purifies and chills gas for transport as a liquid.

“This is the main unit, that is the cooling box of the LNG, it is completely destroyed,” al-Kaabi added.

Still, he said that QatarEnergy’s production could only restart if hostilities end, but even then, it would take at least three to four months to resume fully.

Among QatarEnergy’s partners are key US energy companies, including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.