QatarEnergy locks in US LNG to 2054, buying a route around Hormuz that opens in 2031

QatarEnergy will buy US LNG that never has to cross Hormuz, but the first deliveries are years away. The firm signed two long-term sale and purchase agreements with Cheniere to buy up to 4 mn tons a year from the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi terminals on the US Gulf Coast, according to a press release.

The price tracks US gas, and part of the volume depends on an expansion yet to be approved. Cheniere will supply 2 mn tons a year from each terminal on a free-on-board basis, so QatarEnergy arranges the shipping from the US terminals. The price is indexed to the US Henry Hub gas benchmark plus a fixed fee, and about 1 mn tons a year of the Sabine Pass volume depends on a final investment decision for the first phase of that terminal’s expansion, according to Cheniere.

More US volumes could follow, at a price. QatarEnergy is in advanced talks with US-based Venture Global for at least 3 mn tons annually, although the timeline and contract duration remain unclear, Reuters reports citing three people with knowledge of the negotiations. It’s also in talks with Australia’s Woodside for up to 3 mn tons annually from its Louisiana LNG project, potentially for 15-20 years. The two suppliers have the most uncommitted US capacity. Louisiana LNG is seeking liquefaction fees above USD 2.50/mmBtu, offering shorter contracts in return, two people told Reuters.

REMEMBER- QatarEnergy was in talks with the same three suppliers last month for around 2-3 mn tons a year through 2031, to cover commitments after the hit to Ras Laffan.

Spot cargoes until 2031

QatarEnergy is covering the gap with spot purchases: The company bought 33 US cargoes this year for customers in South Korea, Taiwan, Bangladesh, India, and Japan, against four last year. The cargoes were worth around USD 1 bn, by Reuters’ calculation, and were bought directly from Venture Global and from some of its customers. The shortfall goes beyond shipping: the damage to two of Ras Laffan’s 14 trains in March took some 12.8 mn tons a year of capacity offline for three to five years.

Its own US plant is only starting up. QatarEnergy holds a 70% stake in Texas’s Golden Pass LNG, which shipped its first cargo in April with only Train 1 running. The plant exported less than 0.2 bcf/d from April through June, against an eventual design capacity of 18 mn tons a year, according to the EIA.

The bypass swaps one chokepoint for one coastline. Sabine Pass, Louisiana LNG, and Venture Global’s plants are in Louisiana. Corpus Christi and Golden Pass are in Texas.

Gulf portfolios in US LNG

QatarEnergy is building a portfolio beyond its own production. The Cheniere volumes will “complement QatarEnergy’s existing LNG supplies” and “expand and diversify our global LNG portfolio,” Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy CEO Saad Al Kaabi said.

Adnoc and Aramco are doing the same: Adnoc’s international arm XRG holds equity in all five trains of Texas’s Rio Grande LNG, alongside a 20-year agreement to buy 1.9 mn tons a year from Train 4. Aramco signed a 20-year agreement for 1.2 mn tons a year from the same train, subject to FID at the time, and later a long-term agreement for 1 mn tons a year from Commonwealth LNG.

US LNG exports averaged 17.4 bcf/d in 1H 2026, up 23% y-o-y, as Venture Global’s Plaquemines plant ran at full capacity and Cheniere’s Corpus Christi expansion ramped up, according to the EIA. The Hormuz disruption cut off about 20% of global LNG supply in March, and US exports to Asia roughly doubled in 1H.

Both chokepoints again

Poland’s Orlen is due its first QatarEnergy cargo since supplies were suspended. The Al Kharsaah is due at Swinoujscie on 14 November after crossing Hormuz and Bab Al Mandab earlier this month. The force majeure is still in place, one of the sources said, and QatarEnergy isn’t yet promising deliveries. Orlen has been using its own LNG carrier fleet to lift replacement supply from US terminals.

The bottomline- QatarEnergy can’t use the agreements to cover today’s shortfall, since deliveries start in 2031. It looks to be securing a recurring supply for its future customer book instead of assembling volumes through successive spot purchases, and part of the Sabine Pass volume depends on Cheniere’s expansion decision, so its supply is tied to the seller’s growth

The Corridor follows the routes being built, or bought, around those chokepoints — by rail, road, pipe, or contract — and whether they actually carry anything.