Natural gas prices in Asia and Europe jumped on Friday as the market digested reports that Qatar has extended the force majeure on its LNG deliveries into November amid still blocked transits through the Strait of Hormuz.
In Asia, the spot LNG price jumped to $23.388 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Friday, traders told Bloomberg.
The spot LNG price has been hovering at four-year high levels this week, as supply has tightened with the absence of Qatari term deliveries since the Iran war began. In addition, utilities in Asia have been outbidding Europe for LNG supply this summer amid a shrinking pool of Middle East cargoes, which other producers cannot fully offset with increased deliveries.
In Europe, the LNG price surged this week to the highest level since 2023, while the benchmark natural gas prices in Europe at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) rose by 2% in morning trade in Amsterdam, to top $80 (69 euros) per megawatt-hour (MWh).
Europe is heading for the winter with gas storage sites barely 63% full as of this week, compared to a five-year average of about 80%.
A perfect storm of elevated demand for filling depleted storage and electricity during the summer heatwaves, and slashed LNG supply with Qatar’s cargoes trapped behind the Strait of Hormuz has pushed European benchmark prices and LNG prices to the highest in three years.
Reports from Friday that Qatar’s state-owned QatarEnergy has extended through October-early November its force majeure on LNG deliveries to customers further raised concerns about global LNG supply just ahead of the winter.
LNG traffic at the Strait of Hormuz remains at a standstill, even though oil flows are estimated to have rebounded in recent weeks.
Unlike crude oil, LNG cannot be shuttle-shipped through Hormuz and then re-loaded via a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer, as the Persian Gulf producers have been doing in recent months to ship oil to customers.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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