Virus Shuts RasGas Office Computers, LNG Output Unaffected

Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co., a Qatari LNG producer, said a virus has shut down part of its computer system since Aug. 27.

Desktop computers in company offices were affected by the bug, while operational systems at onshore and offshore installations are secure, a company official said today by phone from Doha. The virus hasn’t affected production or cargoes, said the official, who declined to be named citing company policy.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co, the world’s biggest crude exporter, said on Aug. 26 that most of its computer network was back to normal after a virus forced the company to isolate parts of its system.

Officials at Qatar Liquefied Gas Co., the country’s biggest LNG producer, and Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Co. didn’t immediately respond to e-mails or phone calls for comment on whether its computer systems had been affected by viruses.

Qatar Petroleum, the state-owned energy company, wasn’t affected by any viruses, according to an official, who declined to be named citing company policy.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Tuttle in Doha at rtuttle@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lars Paulsson at lpaulsson@bloomberg.net