Qatar’s LNG exports have collapsed 96% over six months to just 18 cargoes from 509 in the same period a year earlier, leaving an estimated $24bn shortfall in gas sales, according to Reuters.
The $24bn estimate is equivalent to roughly five months of Qatar’s income based on 2025 figures.
The scale of the slump is significant for LNG shipping. Qatar supplied about 20% of global daily LNG before the disruption, while restrictions on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have sharply curtailed loadings from Ras Laffan in Qatar.
Iranian missile strikes in March damaged LNG trains 4 and 6 at Ras Laffan, removing 12.8m tonnes per annum of capacity, equivalent to about 17% of Qatar’s LNG exports.
QatarEnergy president and chief executive Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said repairs could take three to five years. The company would also have to declare force majeure on some long-term LNG contracts with customers in China, South Korea, Italy and Belgium.
Shipping risks have added to the disruption. Qatari LNG carrier Al Rekayyat, owned by Qatar Gas Transport Company, or Nakilat, was badly damaged in July while sailing on the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz. Its crew was evacuated safely.
Qatar’s exports showed a limited recovery in July, reaching 1.52m tonnes from 1.23m tonnes in June, a rise of 23%. Volumes were still 78% below the 6.82m tonnes shipped in July 2025.
US LNG exporters shipped more than 73m tonnes between January and July, up 23% year on year. Europe and Asia together take more than 80% of US LNG cargoes.
EU gas inventories were just under 58% full in early August, the lowest level for that point of the year since records began in 2011. European gas prices had nearly doubled from pre-disruption levels by late July, while fourth-quarter forward prices stood at about $21.50 to $22.50 per million British thermal units.
QatarEnergy is the State of Qatar’s national energy corporation with operations across the oil and gas value chain. It owns, regulates and operates Ras Laffan Port and plans to raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77m tonnes per annum to 142m tonnes per annum by the end of 2030.
Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited, known as Nakilat, is a Qatari public shareholding company providing energy transportation and maritime services.