Global LNG flows cut off by 20 percent

Global liquefied natural gas exports declined to a six-month low, erasing recent supply additions from the U.S. and elsewhere as the conflict in the Middle East throttles flows.

The 10-day moving average for LNG shipments has fallen about 20% from the start of the month to 1.1 million tons, the lowest since September, Bloomberg reported.

The drop is primarily from Qatar - and to a lesser extent the UAE, the data shows. Both nations need to ship fuel through the Strait of Hormuz to reach customers in Asia and Europe.

The U.S.-Israeli war in Iran has spiraled into a regional conflict that has upended the global LNG market. Qatar was forced to shut its LNG export plant in Ras Laffan - the biggest in the world - earlier in the month after Iranian strikes. A further attack last week damaged the facility, and it will take years for two of the plant’s 14 production trains to be repaired.

LNG output around the world had been rising steadily over the past year, thanks primarily to new projects in the US and Canada. This is now being offset by the loss of Qatari LNG and the effective closure of Hormuz - a key waterway for about a fifth of global LNG supply.