Qatar's LNG Export Halt Reaches Longest Duration Since at Least 2008

Global LNG Market Under Pressure as Ras Laffan Facility Experiences Historic Downtime

Qatar's Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant, the world's largest, has not exported a shipment for five consecutive days, marking the longest streak in data available since 2008. This development has significant implications for the global LNG market, potentially leading to increased prices for the fuel.

According to Bloomberg's analysis of Kpler ship-tracking data, no LNG ships have traversed the Strait of Hormuz since February 28, when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. This unprecedented closure of the Ras Laffan facility, which supplies nearly 20% of the world's LNG, has already resulted in a jump in gas prices in Europe and Asia.

The Ras Laffan facility's downtime was triggered by an Iranian drone attack early last week. Although the plant loaded a few shipments after stopping output, this was likely done using fuel from storage tanks, with the last shipment loaded on Friday. The majority of Qatar's LNG supply goes to importers in Asia, which are now seeking replacements or reducing supply to end-users, such as fertilizer plants and industries. An extended outage at the Ras Laffan facility could tighten the global LNG market and lead to shortages in cash-strapped emerging nations.

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