QatarEnergy is turning to the United States for longer-term LNG supplies as the Iran war-related infrastructure damage threatens to keep a significant portion of the Gulf nation’s export capacity offline for years.
As per Reuters, the Qatari energy giant is in talks with several American LNG producers, including Venture Global, Cheniere Energy and Woodside Energy, to secure multi-year contracts through 2031.
QatarEnergy, since the beginning of the Iran war, has been buying dozens of US spot LNG cargoes to meet supply commitments to some of its Asian customers.
To enhance its operations, the company is now seeking longer-term contracts that could offer a more reliable gas supply, as its own infrastructure remains compromised due to the Iranian missile and drone attacks.
In March, Iranian strikes damaged two of the venture’s 14 LNG trains at the Ras Laffan facility, along with a gas-to-liquids plant. The attacks forced the company to halt production at the affected facilities and announce force majeure.
QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi, six months back, said that 12.8 million tonnes per year of LNG capacity could remain offline for three to five years because of the damage.
As part of its US pivot, QatarEnergy Trading, the company’s trading arm, is seeking between two million and three million tonnes per annum of LNG through 2031.
QatarEnergy has also continued to extend its force majeure notices. The latest extension runs through November 2026, with further extensions possible as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
As per the sources cited by Reuters, the US market has enough additional LNG capacity to make QatarEnergy’s search for replacement volumes possible, although competition for those supplies could intensify.
“US LNG projects currently under construction have a combined 25 million tonnes of capacity available for purchase,” stated research firm Rapidan Energy.
Venture Global has the largest amount of uncontracted capacity, with 10 million tonnes per annum available. Cheniere and Woodside Energy each have about six million tonnes available, while Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG project has another three million tonnes available for sale, the agency’s data showed.
“Qatar’s current pursuit of long-term LNG volumes from other producers to help Qatar deliver into their customer contracts indicates that Qatar now sees risk to their ability to export LNG for several years,” said Saul Kavonic, head of energy research and advisory at MST Marquee.
“It signals that Qatar considers the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz may prove longer lasting and that the damage to Qatari LNG infrastructure has been more extensive and may take longer to repair than initially hoped,” he added.
Around 80% of Qatar’s LNG shipments typically go to Asian buyers, making the Gulf country’s export disruption particularly significant for major energy-importing economies across the region.
To mitigate the pain, some of the Asian customers have already started seeking alternatives to Qatari LNG, including the US cargoes.