Qatar will return to normal LNG production within a few weeks, its prime minister says, though damage from Iranian strikes will keep around 17% of capacity offline for years, leaving global gas markets only partly relieved.

WHAT:
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said normal LNG production would resume within a few weeks, except at the facilities damaged by Iranian attacks.

WHY:
Qatar supplies roughly a fifth of global LNG, and its prolonged shutdown since early March has kept European and Asian spot prices elevated and forced force majeure declarations to long-term buyers.

WHAT NEXT:
A full ramp-up depends on safe, sustained navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, while repairs to the two damaged trains are expected to take three to five years.

Qatar will return to its usual levels of liquefied natural gas production within a few weeks, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said, the Financial Times reported on June 24.

The timeline points to a partial recovery for one of the world's largest LNG exporters after months of disruption, with Qatari supply central to global gas markets and to buyers in Europe and Asia. QatarEnergy suspended production following Iranian attacks on its Ras Laffan plant, with output halted since March 6.

Al Thani said production would come back to normal within a few weeks except at the damaged facility, and that QatarEnergy was preparing to return to normal operations once the situation in the strait normalised. He said establishing a hotline between the United States and Iran was essential to reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

An explosion at Ras Laffan on June 22, caused by a technical accident during the restart of operations, killed 13 people and injured at least 66.

Iranian missile strikes in mid-March damaged two of Qatar's 14 liquefaction trains, Trains 4 and 6, removing about 17% of the country's LNG export capacity, with QatarEnergy Chief Executive Officer Saad Al Kaabi having said repairs would take three to five years, Reuters reported. A gas-to-liquids facility was also affected and is expected to be offline for at least a year.

The remaining 12 trains are structurally intact, and QatarEnergy has indicated it could restore around 50% of capacity within a month of safe passage being restored through the strait and roughly 80% within two months. Qatar's pre-conflict capacity stood at 77mn tonnes a year.

The shutdown has also removed a major source of global helium, which is produced as a by-product of LNG at the Ras Laffan facilities, with Qatar accounting for around 30% of world helium capacity.

Vessel-tracking data has shown Qatari LNG carriers beginning to move through the Strait of Hormuz, with the reopening of the waterway and mine-clearance timelines remaining the main constraints on a full recovery.