Claire Jungman: "The LNG market has no spare capacity, so the disruption could be immediate and significant."

Qatar is offering at least two liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers for lease at a time when work on its massive export facility in the Arabian Gulf remains suspended due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. According to traders familiar with the matter, the two tankers — Al Thumama (IMO 9360843, MMSI 538003018 - sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands.) and Mesaieed  (IMO 9975519, MMSI 228463700 -sailing under the flag of France. )— which are chartered by the state-owned Qatar Energy on long-term contracts, are currently available for charter. According to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, the two vessels are currently off the west coast of Africa. The vessels are currently off the west coast of Africa, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The Ras Laffan LNG facility in Qatar

The Ras Laffan LNG facility in Qatar was constructed to process gas from the expansive North Field, which is shared with Iran. Since the early 2010s, Qatar has dominated the global LNG market with a single-source volume that today’s U.S. or Australian supply can’t match, and the world has priced and planned accordingly.

Asia gets the most Qatari LNG

Asia gets the most Qatari LNG, but Europe's feeling the pain of the Hormuz crisis too, 'cause the global market's tightening and the Asian LNG price's going way up compared to European prices. That's making Asian importers re-direct their spot supply.

Related : Reasons for Asia's reliance on Middle Eastern oil - A report

Earlier this week, Claire Jungman, Director of Maritime Risk & Intelligence at energy market analytics firm Vortexa, stated that the LNG market has no spare capacity, meaning the disruption could be immediate and significant.

Tensions in the market and disruptions in shipping.

The war in the Middle East, which erupted after the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has had energy markets disrupted and prices driven up for crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum products.Earlier this week, Qatar halted production at its Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas export facility, the world's largest, following an Iranian drone attack.

The war effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz,

The war effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. This disrupted shipping to and from the Arabian Gulf, including Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers bound for global markets.According to ship-tracking data from Kpler, the Al Thumama tanker has frequently exported LNG from Ras Laffan since 2008. According to the data, the tanker Mesaieed, which entered service in 2025, has carried three LNG cargoes from Qatar and one from the United States.

Related : Lloyd's seeks solution in Persian Gulf: "A thousand ships are at a standstill."

#Al Thumama tanker #the tanker Mesaieed #Ras Laffan #Claire Jungman # LNG market#Qatar Energy#United States #Middle East