Qatar has resumed LNG exports through the Strait of Hormuz: what we know
10 May 09:18
For the first time since the start of the war with Iran, Qatar has managed to send a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. This may indicate a gradual resumption of supplies from the region. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing Bloomberg.
According to vessel tracking data, the LNG tanker Al Kharaitiyat, which was loaded earlier this month at the Ras Laffan export terminal in Qatar, has already left the Strait of Hormuz and is currently in the Gulf of Oman.
The vessel’s next destination is listed as Pakistan.
Bloomberg noted that the tanker likely took the northern route along the Iranian coast, which had been approved by Tehran.
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According to the Equasis database, the Al Kharaitiyat tanker is owned by the Qatari company Nakilat. Neither Nakilat nor QatarEnergy has commented on the situation at this time.
Since the start of the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz has effectively remained blocked, which has seriously impacted global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies. Against this backdrop, LNG prices have skyrocketed, and Asian countries have faced fuel shortages.
Despite the Al Kharaitiyat’s successful voyage, the publication notes that this does not yet signal a return to pre-war export volumes. Before the escalation in the Persian Gulf, approximately three LNG tankers passed through daily.
Qatar had previously attempted several times to export LNG through the Strait of Hormuz, but the ships were ultimately forced to turn back. According to Bloomberg, since the war began in late February, Qatar has been unable to export a single shipment of LNG from the Persian Gulf.
As a reminder, due to the war in Iran and the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, global oil reserves have begun to decline rapidly. According to Bloomberg, from early March through the end of April alone, global reserves decreased by approximately 4.8 million barrels per day—a record rate of depletion.
The greatest risks of fuel shortages are currently being observed in Asia, particularly in Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. At the same time, oil and jet fuel reserves are also falling rapidly in the U.S. and Europe, heightening fears of another spike in global energy prices.
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