Two tankers that loaded LNG from Qatar before the war began appear to be attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz in what could be the first export of Qatari LNG in over a month.
The Al Daayen and the Rasheeda, which took Qatari LNG at the end of February just before the war started, have idled in the Persian Gulf for a month as Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to vessel traffic after the U.S. and Israel began bombing it on February 28.
Now the two LNG carriers loaded with Qatari gas are moving east toward the opening of the Strait of Hormuz near Oman, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing vessel-tracking data.
The Al Daayen signals its destination is China, according to data in MarineTraffic. The Rasheeda signals ‘for orders’, but both destinations could change and it’s unclear whether and when the tankers would be able to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
If they succeed, though, these would be the first loaded LNG tankers that have exited the Strait of Hormuz since February 28.
The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz has trapped about 20% of daily global LNG flows. In addition, Iranian drone and missile strikes on energy infrastructure in the region has damaged Qatar’s key LNG liquefaction complex Ras Laffan.
Qatar’s state firm QatarEnergy expects the damage to the Ras Laffan LNG complex, the world’s single largest LNG-producing facility, to cost it about $20 billion per year in lost revenue and to take up to five years to repair.
QatarEnergy has been forced to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts.
The LNG crunch has sent Asian and European gas prices to the highest levels in three years and stoked fears about rebuilding gas inventories in Europe ahead of the next winter.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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