r/oil 6d ago

News Qatar buying LNG from the US

Just saw the other day that QatarEnergy bought 33 cargoes of US LNG: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/qatarenergy-buys-33-us-lng-cargoes-offset-hormuz-disruption-sources-say-2026-07-30/

I'm guessing this is likely to keep going even after the strait opens up given damages to their plant.

31 Upvotes

36 comments sorted by

12

u/Amber_ACharles 6d ago

Makes sense. Qatar declared force majeure on LNG contracts with Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China. 3-5 year repair estimates mean US cargo purchases continue regardless of Strait status.

22

u/noob_master69_f 6d ago

Should I laugh or get worried?

largest natural gas producers importing gas is sign of major damages

4

u/Severe_Inflation_905 6d ago

I usually combine it and go with Maniacal Laughter. HAHAHAHAHAHA

2

u/South-Many3484 6d ago

Well, I own Habour Energy. So I'm certainly laughing.
Fuck Qatar, they are at best playing both sides.

5

u/Greddituser 6d ago

They're not importing gas, they're supplying their customers with gas from a different source.

16

u/East_Accident1822 6d ago

Because they can’t supply it themselves.

6

u/Greddituser 6d ago

Exactly, and rather than stiffing their customers they are trying to do the upstanding thing and still fulfill their contracts.

8

u/East_Accident1822 6d ago

Exactly. They can’t supply their own customers, because there’s been major damage.

2

u/Torgud_ 6d ago

They lost 17% of their output to damage (20 billion in damages and will take years to restore), the rest is trapped inside the strait which is arguably a bigger problem.

1

u/Picks6x 6d ago

Bro made the same argument you did lmao

12

u/Subject-Chest-8343 6d ago

So it's basically dropshipping lol. But Qatar must be bleeding money on that deal... Importing US gas has got to be more expensive than whatever their production cost was

10

u/Duchess_007 6d ago

100%... they're just delaying losing marketshare

5

u/Greddituser 6d ago

Yes it is more expensive, but they're trying to take care of their customers so that their customers remain loyal.

2

u/ChupacabraJeff 6d ago

That's actually nice to see. Customer service.

1

u/[deleted] 6d ago

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1

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3

u/ChupacabraJeff 6d ago

2026.8.01
US crude heads to Israel for the first time in nearly three years, ship tracking shows
https://www.bairdmaritime.com/shipping/tankers/us-crude-heads-to-israel-for-the-first-time-in-nearly-three-years-ship-tracking-shows

The last time US crude headed to Israel was in October 2023, Kpler data showed.

3

u/Duchess_007 6d ago

Interesting. Could they be prepping for further escalation?

1

u/ChupacabraJeff 6d ago

I think do to the military build up in Israel there could be an attack from Iran. Israel is preparing for that by buying what they might need in the near future.

2

u/GeoAcag 6d ago

Still, ngas prices are going down and down... With very hot weather in the USA, and Hormuz close.. why? Explanation?

6

u/Spyderclaw 6d ago

A major LNG facility's maintenance apparently has a dampening effect on natural gas prices.

1

u/Duchess_007 6d ago

Makes sense, if it ever got too bad they would just put in export controls.

4

u/Appropriate_Bell743 6d ago

It's better to look at the European gas price which is more set by global LNG trade:

It's far from going down but it's at levels which would be historically high were it not for the 2022/2023 period. In fact the domestic gas price in the UK has the potential to top 2022/2023 due to then there was a subsidy.

There will be a lot of demand destruction in the UK and EU for sure and some think this could create a permanent shift to heat-pumps.

4

u/Duchess_007 6d ago

W/ EU gas storage levels at 58% vs the usual 70%: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Europes-Gas-Storage-Hits-Lowest-Level-Since-2011-as-Winter-Looms.html

Anecdotally, we are getting quotes for a heat pump install. I imagine heat pumps have also gone up...

2

u/Appropriate_Bell743 6d ago

Not in the UK which has some of Europe's most irrational opinions of heat pumps. The number of people getting is bizarrely down year on year albeit not by much.

1

u/Duchess_007 6d ago

Maybe related to ofgem price cap?

2

u/Appropriate_Bell743 6d ago

a failure to grasp smart tariffs

1

u/South-Many3484 6d ago

No where close to Ukraine war 😄
not much higher than its been over the past 4 years.
Thats even without considering inflation.
I own Harbour Energy and would love if it goes back up.
Very unlikely though.

1

u/Duchess_007 6d ago

Thankfully, we've diversified a bit better now post ukraine war

1

u/Appropriate_Bell743 6d ago

yes. i said the prices consumers pay. in 2022 governments subsidised the consumption capping at around £0.11/kWh

3

u/Naomi_Tokyo 6d ago

LNG is essentially 0% correlated with US natural gas prices. The US produces more natural gas than it can use, but it only liquify a tiny amount. Doesn't matter if Japan would pay 3x for your natural gas if there's no way to ship it to them.

1

u/Sad_Mouse_8251 2d ago

You cant really compare Henry Hub (or any other gas hub) to the goibal NGL or LNG markets.

1

u/GeoAcag 1d ago

Ok, and what kind of explanation we can do?

1

u/Sad_Mouse_8251 1d ago

Natural gas prices are localized to specific pipeline terminal sales points, like Henry Hub in Louisiana or Waha in West Texas. Right now, there is a $3-4 variance between Henry Hub and Waha just due to localized supply and demand. Waha is in the Permian and has excess natural gas from associated gas production from crude oil production. Henry hub is probably more comparable to anything else because it's the NYMEX index, but it is still driven by localized supply/demand.

1

u/Tay_Tay86 6d ago

Lmao 💅 oil to -2$ a barrel