QatarEnergy has extended the suspension of liquefied natural gas deliveries to Italy until November, prolonging a supply disruption that began after Iranian strikes damaged the company’s production facilities in March, Italian energy company Edison said on Friday.
QatarEnergy will be unable to deliver five LNG cargoes to Edison scheduled between the end of September and early November, according to a notice posted on Italy’s GME gas market platform and reported by Reuters.
Edison, one of QatarEnergy’s biggest customers, had previously announced a similar suspension on July 28, underscoring the prolonged impact of the damage to Qatar’s LNG infrastructure.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates as additional information becomes available,” Edison said on Friday, confirming the extended suspension.
The suspension of LNG deliveries began in April after QatarEnergy's facilities were struck by Iran.
QatarEnergy halted production across its LNG facilities on March 2 and later declared force majeure following Iranian strikes on its Ras Laffan complex. Force majeure clauses allow suppliers to suspend contractual obligations without penalty when events beyond their control prevent delivery.
Anglo-Dutch major Shell, which holds a 30 per cent stake in QatarEnergy LNG's fourth expansion train at Ras Laffan, said in July that Qatar's damaged LNG production could take until the first quarter of 2027 to fully repair.
Qatar accounted for about 20 per cent of global LNG supply before the war. QatarEnergy has an annual production of around 77 million tonnes per year. Most of QatarEnergy's supplies are delivered under long-term contracts to Asian buyers.
The war in Iran has also severely crippled shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which is a major chokepoint for the world's energy exports and accounted for a fifth of global LNG supply.
Data from industry tracker Kpler shows that LNG tanker crossings across the strait remain very limited, with the last vessel crossing on August 20.
There have been nine LNG voyages through Hormuz so far in August, paling in comparison to 40 in June and 17 in July. There were 13 crossings in April and May combined and none in March, it showed.
Edison, a unit of French energy group EDF, holds a long-term contract with QatarEnergy for the supply of 6.4 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year to Italy. That is about 10 per cent of Italy's total consumption. The 25-year contract has been in force since 2009.
