• QatarEnergy boss says he warned US energy secretary and executives
  • Says earlier evacuation meant pulling out 10,000 workers in 24 hours
  • Says North Field expansion could be delayed by more than a year
  • Says difficult to describe how he feels after Iran attack

DUBAI, March 20 (Reuters) - As Qatar reels from an Iranian attack that has hobbled its giant natural gas company, its boss, who doubles as the country's energy minister, says he had warned officials and executives of just such a danger should Iran's own sites be hit.

"I was always warning, talking to executives from oil and gas that are partnered with us, talking to the U.S. Secretary of Energy, to warn him of that consequence and that that could be detrimental to us," QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi told Reuters.

QatarEnergy's partners include major U.S. energy companies such as ExxonMobil XOM.N and ConocoPhillips COP.N.

 

'AWARE OF THE THREAT'

"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," he said.

The U.S. Department of Energy deferred to the White House on the matter.

Asked for comment, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said: "President Trump and his entire energy team were not ignorant of the reality that there would be short-term disruptions to oil and gas supply during the ongoing operations in Iran, and planned for these highly anticipated, temporary disruptions."

ExxonMobil declined to comment.

"We remain fully committed to our longstanding partnership and will continue to work with QatarEnergy on a path to recovery," a ConocoPhillips spokesperson said.

Three weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, missile and drone attacks have damaged tankers, refineries and other important energy infrastructure, with the biggest known impact so far on QatarEnergy's Ras Laffan, the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex.

Kaabi told Reuters on Thursday that the damage to the facilities that had cost $26 billion to build would impact LNG deliveries to Europe and Asia for up to five years.

Governments have long feared such a scenario, where facilities vital to the world's supply of not only crude oil and natural gas, but also products such as jet fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used for heating and cooking, sustain long-term damage.