QatarEnergy expands US LNG purchases as Hormuz disruption blocks exports

QatarEnergy has secured long-term US LNG supplies as disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz restricts its own exports, OilPrice.com reported. The agreements with Cheniere and Woodside will make the Qatari state-owned company the largest buyer of US LNG, according to QatarEnergy chief executive and Qatar’s energy minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi.

The Cheniere agreements cover purchases of up to 4 million tonnes a year from the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi export facilities. Deliveries are expected to start in 2031 and run through 2054. Separately, QatarEnergy has agreed to buy 3 million tonnes annually from Woodside’s Louisiana LNG development, which is under construction. That supply will be delivered on a free-on-board basis for 20 years from 2030.

The purchases broaden QatarEnergy’s access to supply outside Hormuz, although their start dates place them beyond the immediate export disruption. OilPrice.com described the shift as a reversal for Qatar, which ranked as the world’s second-largest LNG exporter before the Iran war, behind the United States. Al-Kaabi said the purchases, alongside QatarEnergy’s Golden Pass LNG project, supported the company’s diversification and long-term growth plans.

Meanwhile, QatarEnergy is repairing LNG facilities damaged by Iranian missile attacks in March. The company said that month that the strikes had disabled 17% of Qatar’s export capacity, with estimated annual revenue losses of $20 billion. OilPrice.com reported that only a small number of cargoes were passing through Hormuz, leaving even reduced production constrained by shipping access.

QatarEnergy has declared force majeure lasting up to five years on some long-term contracts. It also extended force majeure on deliveries to Asian and European customers by another month, through the end of December 2026, according to the report. The disruption has reduced sales and weakened perceptions of Qatar’s reliability as a term supplier.

Al-Kaabi ruled out pipelines as an alternative on commercial and technical grounds. Speaking in September, he said moving gas by pipeline would require liquefaction facilities elsewhere, duplicating investment in Qatar’s North Field expansion. He also said Qatar could return to normal operations within weeks once Hormuz reopened.