Shipping around the Strait of Hormuz is being disrupted by the US-Iran war. Amid that, QatarEnergy has further extended the force-majeure period covering its liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries, saying it won’t be able to supply LNG until early November.
A Euronews report said European and Asian buyers now face growing uncertainty over securing LNG in this environment.
Bangladesh is among the countries facing the greatest risk. Citing Bloomberg and Reuters, Doha News reported that QatarEnergy is treating the disruption to Bangladesh’s LNG supply as “force majeure” — a circumstance beyond its control — and that it won’t be able to resume LNG deliveries to Bangladesh even after September.
QatarEnergy has also told Pakistan that deliveries could be cancelled through October.
Italian energy supplier Edison confirmed Friday that QatarEnergy told it deliveries wouldn’t resume until early November either. Several other European buyers have received similar notices. Bangladesh typically imports LNG both under long-term contracts and from the spot market, and has long-term agreements with Qatar and Oman.
But since the Middle East war began on February 28, regular supply from both countries has been disrupted. The occasional cargo has still arrived, but volumes fall well short of demand.
In this environment, Bangladesh is scrambling to import LNG on an emergency basis. But with cargoes not arriving on schedule, the country’s gas shortage has worsened.
Anne-Sophie Corbeau, an expert at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, said Pakistan, Bangladesh and India are among the countries most exposed to the LNG shortage.