QatarEnergy has extended ‘force majeure’ on LNG deliveries to Bangladesh and other buyers until November 2026, citing security concerns in the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict. The suspension affects buyers across Europe and Asia.

Force majeure allows a party to suspend its contractual obligations due to unforeseen events such as war or natural disasters.

Qatar, Bangladesh’s largest LNG supplier under long-term contracts, delivers at least 40 cargoes a year. Before the Middle East crisis, two long-term agreements were expected to supply 56 cargoes in the current 2026–27 fiscal year. Petrobangla now expects to receive roughly half that number.

Doha News, citing Bloomberg, reported that the force majeure affecting Bangladesh had been extended beyond September. Petrobangla officials, however, said they had yet to receive formal notification from QatarEnergy.

“We haven’t been informed of anything yet. But we have heard about other force majeure notices,” one Petrobangla official told Bonik Barta on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan, another Asian buyer, was told last week that its cancelled LNG cargoes would remain suspended until October. European buyers have also begun receiving similar notices, according to the Doha News report.

The disruption has forced Asian and European buyers to seek alternative LNG supplies. In Bangladesh, where the shortfall has become acute, the government turned to the direct purchase method (DPM) to import LNG. Suppliers nevertheless failed to deliver at least six cargoes, widening the deficit and disrupting power generation, industrial output, residential supply and the CNG sector.

Petrobangla has stepped up spot-market LNG purchases as long-term cargoes become increasingly uncertain. Officials say the government is prioritising supply security over cost. Last week, the state-run LNG buyer purchased two cargoes at more than $24 per million British thermal units.

The corporation is also expanding its supplier roster to increase competition and maintain steady deliveries. It currently has 29 firms on its panel and has written to nine more that it considers eligible.

QatarEnergy first declared force majeure on March 4, shortly after the Middle East conflict disrupted shipping through Hormuz. The move effectively removed most Qatari LNG cargoes from the global market.

According to Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS), Qatar exported only 18 LNG cargoes in the first six months of the war, compared with 509 in the same period a year earlier.

The collapse in exports is estimated to have cost Qatar roughly $24 billion (€20.7 billion) in gas revenue. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, QatarEnergy’s president and chief executive and Qatar’s energy minister, said Iranian missile strikes had cut Qatar’s LNG export capacity by 17 percent.

The supply shock has rippled across South Asia. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates together account for 99 percent of Pakistan’s LNG imports, 72 percent of Bangladesh’s and 53 percent of India’s, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). In all three countries, the fuel is used mainly for power generation and industry. Supply shortages have now prompted India to ration LNG for industry, Bangladesh to turn to the spot market for cargoes and Pakistan to implement an emergency gas management plan.