Qatar’s state-owned QatarEnergy has bought on the spot market as many as 33 cargoes from the United States so far this year to ship them to customers in Asia to reduce the impact of its own stranded supply due to the Iran war, Reuters reported on Thursday, quoting industry and trade sources.
The buying spree on the spot market so far in 2026 vastly exceeds the only four U.S. cargoes QatarEnergy bought last year.
The acquisition of the nearly three dozen U.S. spot cargoes, reportedly directly from U.S. producer and exporter Venture Global, was a move by Qatar to keep its reputation of a reliable LNG supplier in Asia, per some of Reuters’ sources. Qatar has seen its domestic production and exports constrained, due to the damage to facilities from Iranian missile attacks and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The cargoes Qatar bought from America were for delivery to key Asian buyers including Japan, South Korea, India, Bangladesh, and Taiwan, according to Reuters’ sources.
Of the 33 U.S. LNG cargoes, a total of 28 have been already delivered, and the last five are currently traveling to South Korea, Taiwan, and India, per data from analytics firm Kpler cited by Reuters.
Early in the Iran war, QatarEnergy declared force majeure on LNG deliveries following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian drone and missile strikes that damaged Qatar’s key LNG liquefaction complex Ras Laffan.
QatarEnergy expects the damage to Ras Laffan, 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.
The Middle East is no longer seen as the reliable supplier it was before the conflict began in February.
Even China, the world’s top LNG importer, is reportedly in talks to secure long-term LNG supplies from exporters that don’t need the Strait of Hormuz, as the world’s biggest LNG buyer seeks to reduce its exposure to gas deliveries from the Persian Gulf.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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