QatarEnergy Declared Force Majeure on LNG Supply Contracts
The Qatari LNG producer QatarEnergy has declared force majeure on long-term contracts with four countries. This is the second force majeure declaration in March. Iranian strikes have disabled 17% of QatarEnergy’s export capacity.
QatarEnergy has declared force majeure on a number of long-term LNG supply contracts, including with clients in Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China, Reuters reports.
In early March, QatarEnergy had already declared force majeure for some buyers due to the suspension of LNG production. At that time, the company’s facilities were attacked by Iranian drones. The head of the company stated that production would resume after the end of the Middle East conflict. According to company estimates, Iranian strikes disabled 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, which will lead to annual losses of approximately 20 billion US dollars.
On March 19, the company warned of the risk of declaring force majeure on long-term contracts with Belgium, China, Italy, and South Korea for a period of up to five years.
During Iranian strikes on March 18 and 19, two LNG production lines at QatarEnergy facilities were destroyed.
QatarEnergy’s facilities in Ras Laffan are the world’s largest center for the production and export of liquefied natural gas. The Ras Laffan complex accounts for about 20% of global LNG supply.
The Financial Times reported that during the latest attacks on the company’s facilities in Ras Laffan, Iranian forces used “advanced missiles” capable of bypassing American Patriot air defense systems. US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with strikes on the South Pars field in the event of attacks on Qatari LNG plants.
Iran attacked Ras Laffan in Qatar after Israel carried out strikes on Iran’s gas infrastructure on March 18. According to Israeli officials cited by Axios, the strike was coordinated with the Trump administration, which was confirmed by a source in the Pentagon. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the Israeli attack, stating that the strikes “will lead to an escalation and may have uncontrollable consequences, the scale of which could affect the entire world.”
