DOHA, March 24. /TASS/. Qatar Energy, the state-owned oil and gas company, has declared force majeure on its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contracts to Belgium, Italy, China, and South Korea, according to a statement distributed by Qatari media.

"Force majeure has been declared on LNG supply contracts with Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China," the statement read.

The company noted that specialists are currently assessing the damage and the timeframe for repairs to facilities, as well as the impact of the damage on its operations.

On March 19, Qatar's Minister of State for Energy and CEO of Qatar Energy, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, told Reuters that the country would lose approximately 17% of its LNG export capacity for three to five years due to infrastructure damage from Iranian strikes. He also warned that the company would likely have to declare force majeure for up to five years on long-term LNG supply contracts to Belgium, Italy, China, and South Korea.

Qatar is one of the world's three largest LNG exporters. The Ras Laffan industrial cluster, located in the north of the country, approximately 80 kilometers from Doha, houses the country's main liquefaction, storage, and offloading facilities. The complex's infrastructure includes 14 LNG trains with a total capacity of approximately 77 million tons per year. The facility was struck by Iranian strikes on March 18 and after midnight on March 19. According to al-Kaabi, two LNG production lines were damaged, as well as one of the two gas-to-liquids (GTL) facilities.