Qatar sent its first liquefied natural gas cargo through the Strait of Hormuz in weeks, while oil company ADNOC is also moving ships into position for loadings, Bloomberg reported — signs that production may ramp up if flows are sustained. Before the war, roughly a fifth of the world’s LNG passed through the strait, and the disruption has left Asian buyers scrambling. Pakistan and Bangladesh have spent about $1.9 billion replacing canceled Qatari cargoes — more than double the cost of the lost Gulf deliveries, according to Bloomberg’s Stephen Stapczynski.
The small number of ships now moving indicates a slow recovery. QatarEnergy this week extended force majeure for customers in Europe and Asia through the end of September, pushing out expectations of when normal exports will resume. The company has bought around $1 billion of LNG cargoes from the US this year to help ease supply disruptions for some of its Asian buyers, Reuters reported.
