Qatar on Track to Become Biggest Buyer of US LNG by 2033

Qatar is on track to become the world’s largest buyer of U.S. liquefied natural gas by 2033, as its state-owned energy company expands overseas supplies after wartime disruptions to Gulf exports.

QatarEnergy signed two agreements in late October, adding 7 million tonnes a year to the U.S. LNG it can market, the Financial Times reported.

Together with output from the Golden Pass project in Texas, where it owns a 70% stake, the company is set to control 23.7 million tonnes annually by 2033.

The gas will be resold to international customers rather than shipped to Qatar, which remains among the world’s cheapest places to produce gas.

U.S. supplies can reach buyers without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

New Supplies Start Next Decade

The new contracts begin supplying LNG in 2030 and 2031, offering little relief to customers facing shortages now.

They could, however, cushion buyers against future interruptions to Qatari exports.

QatarEnergy chief executive Saad al-Kaabi said at an October 29 signing ceremony that the agreements “strengthen our ability to serve customers across the globe.”

Jason Feer, global head of business intelligence at energy and shipping broker Poten & Partners, said expanding outside the Middle East would address perceptions that QatarEnergy depended too heavily on its domestic production.

He said the strategy could help restore the company’s reputation for reliability after a prewar record of never missing a shipment.

Feer expects another two or three U.S. deals and potentially agreements elsewhere.

Hormuz Disruption Hits Exports

Qatari LNG exports have dropped below a third of their usual level this year as Iranian attacks on shipping restrict traffic through Hormuz, the country’s only export route to customers outside the Gulf.

QatarEnergy halted LNG production and declared force majeure to affected buyers days after the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began at the end of February.

Customers, mostly in Asia, had to seek replacement supplies.

Middle Eastern LNG shipments have suffered more disruption than oil.

There are no pipelines linking Gulf LNG export plants to facilities outside the Gulf, while transferring LNG between vessels is more difficult than transferring oil.

The U.S. overtook Qatar as the world’s largest LNG supplier in 2023.

QatarEnergy has meanwhile expanded its trading operations, launching a desk in 2020 and trading more than 20 million tonnes last year, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Feer said buying U.S. LNG also advances Qatar’s broader ambition to build a global gas business.