QatarEnergy Extends LNG Force Majeure to End of December for Italy's Edison and South Asian Buyers

QatarEnergy has told Italian utility Edison it will not deliver LNG until the end of December. The Qatari state company extended its force majeure from an earlier early-December deadline.

Edison disclosed the extension on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in a message on the platform of Italy's energy markets manager GME. Three more cargoes bound for the Adriatic LNG terminal are now covered, which stretches the suspension across the whole period from the start of April to Dec. 31.

QatarEnergy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Edison's numbers

Edison says 38 cargoes, roughly 5 billion cubic meters of gas, now fall under force majeure. As of Oct. 27 the company had replaced 27 of them, about 2.7 billion cubic meters.

That leaves 11 cargoes still to be covered. Edison says it can source alternative gas for all its customers and will honor its commercial commitments.

The contract is a big one. Signed in 2009 and running 25 years, it calls for 6.4 billion cubic meters a year, around 10% of Italy's annual gas consumption.

South Asia takes the same hit

Clients in Pakistan and Bangladesh were also told their force majeure notices now run to the end of the year. State-run Petrobangla confirmed it.

Petrobangla Chairman Abdul Mannan said the company is trying to secure additional spot cargoes, but "at a significant cost, driving our import bill sharply higher and putting considerable pressure on our finances."

A source with knowledge of the matter said Qatar has extended force majeure on November supplies to India's Petronet LNG. Nothing has been said about December for Petronet.

Why Europe is feeling it

The Iran war began in late February. QatarEnergy has cited it for the disruptions, and Edison has received no Qatari gas since April.

The supply gap is landing at a bad time. With low gas storage in Europe and gradually cooler weather, the benchmark Dutch gas price has climbed above €95 per megawatt hour this week. That is close to its highest level since December 2022.

Qatar is the world's second-largest LNG producer behind the United States and supplies about a fifth of global LNG consumption. Most production at Ras Laffan and Mesaieed was halted because of the threat of Iranian missile and drone attacks. A March Iranian missile strike on Ras Laffan caused extensive damage and set off several major fires.

Qatar's own bill

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani addressed the Shura Council on Tuesday and put numbers on the damage. Government revenue fell 42% in the first half of 2026, while public spending dropped 14%.

"The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, along with direct damage to some energy facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, has disrupted a significant portion of the country's exports," the emir said. He said Qatar chose not to cut essential services or change development priorities, and credited lower public debt and non-oil revenue streams for cushioning the blow.

The IMF and World Bank estimate Qatar has suffered more proportional economic damage from the war than any country except Iran, according to Breitbart. Qatar had expected 6.1% GDP growth this year. If current trends hold, the economy will shrink about 8.6%.

The restart question

QatarEnergy has said it could return to full LNG production within weeks after the Strait of Hormuz is officially reopened. Industry sources quoted by Reuters on Monday were skeptical of that timeline.

Their argument is mechanical. An LNG chain is more intricate and fragile than oil exports, and Qatar lacks the storage to absorb a major backlog if anything snags along the way.

Qatar has also taken no overt retaliatory action over the Ras Laffan strike. It called the attack a "dangerous escalation, flagrant violation of state sovereignty, and direct threat to national security."

What to watch

The December deadline now sits at the start of the heating season, when European storage matters most. Edison says it has covered 27 of 38 cargoes, but each replacement is bought at spot prices that are near multi-year highs.

Whether the force majeure ends on schedule depends on a Hormuz reopening that has not been announced, and on a restart that QatarEnergy says takes weeks and industry sources say may take longer.