LNG

Transits of crude oil and LNG tankers through the Strait of Hormuz have slowed sharply over the weekend as shipowners and operators reacted to latest attacks on tankers and stalled U.S.-Iran talks.

Kuwait has taken 28 LNG cargoes so far this year, 2.17 million tons on an arrival-date basis to 23 July, and every one of them loaded at Ras Laffan. The last cargo from anywhere else was the LNG Borno out of Bonny Island, which discharged at Al Zour on 31 October 2025. Nothing has berthed at the terminal since 15 July.

Five crude oil and LNG tankers have turned back from attempts to transit the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the area. As tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran continue, maritime authorities raised the risk of transiting Hormuz to “severe.”

Qatar expects to restore normal liquefied natural gas production “within a few weeks,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told the Financial Times, provided the US and Iran establish a “hotline” to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The US-Iran memorandum has been signed by both presidents, ahead of Friday's scheduled ceremony, and commits Iran to clearing Hormuz of mines within 30 days. Yet ADNOC's carriers are holding back: four sit dark off Khor Fakkan, home from earlier delivery runs, even as Qatar's Disha ran the strait in the open just as the deal broke.

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for roughly 20% of global LNG supply, will reopen to shipping on Friday, June 19, after the US and Iran formally sign a peace deal to end the war, US President Donald Trump confirmed. Brent crude futures fell 4.1% in early trading on Monday on the news.

Cash-rich incumbents are leading the next wave of brownfield US LNG expansions, as the Iran war has escalated project costs, disproportionately disadvantaging greenfield projects – such as Argent LNG – that lack existing infrastructure.

Q-Flex LNG carrier Al Sahla is at Iranian anchorage after attempting Hormuz transit, with two further Qatari vessels turned back in same window as Iran's enforcement posture appears to have shifted.

Iraq’s power sector remains vulnerable to fluctuations in Iranian gas supplies, prompting Baghdad to press ahead with plans to import LNG through the country’s first floating terminal, developed by Excelerate Energy.

An US-Iran peace deal resolution is expected “very soon,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry says – which would hit future prices immediately – but physical LNG and oil flows, deliveries, and broader supply normalization would lag by weeks, Rystad Energy cautions.