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Marrakech – QatarEnergy declared force majeure on liquefied natural gas deliveries on Wednesday after halting production at its facilities, a move that threatens global energy markets for weeks.
The state-owned energy giant said it notified affected buyers of the declaration following its decision to stop LNG production and associated output. The company said it values its relationships with stakeholders and will continue to communicate updates as the situation develops.
Force majeure is a legal clause in supply contracts that frees companies from liability when events beyond their control prevent delivery. It allows suppliers to suspend contractual obligations without facing penalties or lawsuits for failing to meet commitments.
QatarEnergy declares Force Majeure
Further to the announcement by QatarEnergy to stop production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and associated products, QatarEnergy has declared Force Majeure to its affected buyers.
QatarEnergy values its relationships with all of its…
— QatarEnergy (@qatarenergy) March 4, 2026
Qatar accounts for about 20% of global LNG exports. All of its shipments transit the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has ground to a near-halt amid the US-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that QatarEnergy, which stopped producing gas earlier this week, fully shut down gas liquefaction on Wednesday.
The facility will not restart for at least two weeks, according to initial estimates. Once the restart decision is taken, it will take another two weeks to reach full capacity. That means global gas markets face shortages for at least a month even if the conflict ends immediately.
The company has started contacting clients in Asia and Europe but has not told them how long the shutdown might last, Reuters reported.
On Monday, QatarEnergy halted LNG production at its Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City facilities due to military attacks. Qatar’s Defense Ministry said it had detected the launch of three cruise missiles, 101 ballistic missiles, and 39 suicide drones toward its airspace since last weekend.
The shutdown process is gradual. Production is first reduced to minimum levels before feed-gas flows are stopped and pressure is eased back to upstream facilities to protect equipment.
Read also: Oil Jumps 3% as Gulf Conflict Shakes Markets, Strait of Hormuz Remains Closed
Restarting is even more complex. The cooldown phase is the most critical step and must be intentionally slow to avoid thermal shock. Liquefaction trains cannot restart simultaneously and must be sequenced, according to Mehdy Touil, lead LNG specialist at Calypso Commodities.
QatarEnergy has significant storage capacity at Ras Laffan of roughly 760,000 cubic meters. But at full production rate, that storage fills up in just 1.6 days, Touil said.
The impact is already severe. European gas prices rose by 52% following the Iranian strike on Ras Laffan, the largest jump since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The production halt has intensified competition between the Atlantic and Pacific basins for LNG cargoes, sending gas prices and freight rates to multi-year highs.
The disruption hits Asia particularly hard. Over 80% of Qatar’s customers are in China, Japan, India, South Korea, Pakistan, and other countries in the region. India, which relies on Qatar for over 40% of its LNG imports, has instructed its industry to cut gas supply by 10 to 20%. Qatar also shut down its aluminium and petrochemicals production, which depend on gas supply.
Other major suppliers such as the United States and Australia cannot fully offset a prolonged loss of Qatari supply. The global LNG market operates with limited spare capacity, leaving few alternatives for buyers scrambling to secure replacement cargoes.
