Published: 12:20 AM, 02 September 2026
Qatar extends LNG cargo cancellations to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Italy
QatarEnergy has informed European and Asian buyers that the restriction of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz means that cancellations of liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo will continue, according to media reports.
Among the buyers affected by the force majeure, which frees parties from liabilities and obligations in cases of extraordinary events or circumstances, are Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Italy, reports Doha News.
On Friday, Bloomberg reported that QatarEnergy had extended the force majeure on LNG supplies to Bangladesh beyond September, while it notified Pakistani buyers this week that cargo cancellations would continue into October.
The report added that European buyers have also begun receiving notices.
Reuters had reported the disruption of supplies to Italy as well. On Friday, Italian utility Edison confirmed that QatarEnergy had extended the suspension of LNG deliveries to the country until early November.
"QatarEnergy has informed Edison that it will not be able to deliver an additional five LNG cargoes scheduled for the Adriatic LNG receiving terminal in Italy. This will effectively extend the overall force majeure period from the beginning of April to early November 2026," Edison said in a media statement.
The total number of affected cargoes has now hit 29, Edison said. The company added that it is securing alternative supplies to meet its fuel needs.
The disruption is forcing buyers in Asia and Europe to find replacement stocks, switch to other fuel, or use less gas.
Meanwhile, a recent flare-up in attacks by the US and Iran has thrown further uncertainty on to when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will return to normal.
Regular LNG cargo transit through the major shipping lane remains largely halted.
Qatar first declared a force majeure in March and has renewed it month by month as the disruption has stretched on.
"Absent any political resolution or one of the main stakeholders blinking first, we are still likely to be there for quite some time," said Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a global research scholar at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, told Euronews.
QatarEnergy still has no reliable date on the resumption of normal exports and is thus forced to extend the cancellations each month, she said.
The war in West Asia has taken Qatar off the map in terms of fuel exports since February. The country has exported only 18 LNG cargoes during the first six months of the war, compared with 509 over the same period a year earlier, according to ICIS data.
The estimated loss in gas sales is approximately $24 billion, Euronews said.
The shortfall is partially being filled by other exporters such as the US and Canada, while output has been stronger in Nigeria and Malaysia.
Still, it does not cover the entirety of the shortage. Some Asian markets are compensating by cutting consumption or switching to other fuels, while Europe has used up stockpiles rather than buying at higher prices from the spot market.
Prolonged LNG disruptions from Qatar and the UAE could cause global trade to fall in 2026, researcher Corbeau said.
The impact of these disruptions is uneven across importing countries, but she identified Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India as particularly vulnerable. Japan, meanwhile, is better protected because it buys relatively little LNG from Qatar and has more long-term contracts tied to oil or US gas prices.
However, it could take until 2028 for the market to return to its previous balance, Corbeau told Euronews.
Before the war in Iran, one fifth of global LNG trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz. While some oil tankers still use the waterway, LNG carriers are less available, more specialised, and harder to replace, making them more vulnerable amid the ongoing conflict.
QatarEnergy President and CEO and Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said Iranian missile strikes on Ras Laffan had reduced Qatar's LNG export capacity by 17 percent.
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