QatarEnergy CEO Saad Al-Kaabi said that about 17 percent of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity was damaged in a recent Iranian attack. He told Reuters that the affected facilities have significantly reduced the company’s export capacity, and full recovery could take three to five years. Al-Kaabi expressed surprise that such an attack occurred during Ramadan, calling it unexpected from a fellow Muslim nation.

He added that due to the damage to two LNG trains, QatarEnergy might have to declare force majeure on long-term gas supply contracts with Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China, potentially causing prolonged supply disruptions. The damaged facilities had cost around 26 billion dollars to build.

The report noted that the incident could further increase volatility in the global energy market as Qatar is one of the world’s major LNG exporters.