QatarEnergy has extended force majeure notices on liquefied natural gas deliveries to Italy’s Edison and several Asian customers as the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz prolongs one of the most significant disruptions to global LNG supply.
Edison said it does not expect to receive Qatari LNG cargoes until the beginning of December. Customers in Asia, including Bangladesh and Pakistan, have been informed that force majeure notices were extended through November, according to trading sources cited by Reuters.
The timing is increasingly important as Europe enters the winter heating season with several countries still rebuilding gas inventories.
Qatar’s LNG exports have been hit exceptionally hard by the conflict. Reuters calculated that exports were down 96% at the end of August.
Data from ICIS showed Qatar had exported just 18 LNG cargoes through the end of August, compared with 509 during the same period last year.
Edison said another six cargoes will be cancelled, bringing its total undelivered shipments to 35. The Italian utility has replaced 23 cargoes so far, relying primarily on U.S. suppliers.
The scale matters for Italy. Edison’s long-term agreement with QatarEnergy covers 6.4 billion cubic meters of gas annually, equivalent to roughly 10% of Italian consumption.
Extended Qatari disruption increases competition between European and Asian buyers for alternative LNG supply just as seasonal demand begins to strengthen.
That competition could support global gas prices and increase the importance of U.S. LNG exports during the winter.
The immediate variables are the duration of the Hormuz closure, Qatar’s ability to restore export capacity and whether European buyers can secure sufficient replacement cargoes without sharply increasing prices.
