Qatar set to be top buyer of US LNG

Qatar is on track to become the world’s largest buyer of U.S. liquefied natural gas (XNGUSD) after a series of long-term supply agreements tied to Gulf Coast export projects. QatarEnergy has agreed to purchase up to 3 million metric tons of LNG annually for 20 years from Woodside Energy’s Louisiana plant and 4 million metric tons per year from Cheniere Energy’s facilities in Texas and Louisiana. Deliveries from these contracts are due to begin around 2030 and 2031, together making Qatar the biggest single customer for U.S. LNG.

The latest Woodside agreement is QatarEnergy’s second multi-decade purchase deal with a U.S. competitor within a week, underscoring the scale and speed of its shift toward imported volumes from North America. Qatar’s energy minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said these additional U.S. purchases strengthen the company’s global supply and trading portfolio and support its long-term growth and diversification strategy.

Under the agreement announced Thursday, QatarEnergy will buy up to 3 million metric tons of LNG per year for 20 years from Woodside Energy’s export plant under construction in Calcasieu Parish near Lake Charles, Louisiana. The facility targets first production in 2029, with deliveries to QatarEnergy expected to start in 2030. This deal follows two contracts signed a week earlier with Cheniere Energy for a total of 4 million metric tons annually from Sabine Pass in Cameron Parish and Corpus Christi, Texas, beginning in the early 2030s and continuing through 2054.

Of the 4 million metric tons contracted with Cheniere, 1 million metric tons per year is subject to a final investment decision on the first phase of the Sabine Pass expansion. In addition to these purchase contracts, QatarEnergy highlights its joint venture with ExxonMobil (XOM) at the Golden Pass LNG export plant in Port Arthur, Texas, as another element of its strategy to expand and diversify LNG supply linked to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Qatar’s turn to long-term U.S. supplies comes as its own Gulf export system faces significant strain. Two damaged production units at the Ras Laffan LNG complex, with a combined annual capacity of 12.8 million metric tons, require repairs expected to take three to five years. QatarEnergy has estimated the damage at about $20 billion in annual lost revenue, even as its remaining plants retain 64.2 million metric tons of export capacity.

Security and logistics have tightened further as the Strait of Hormuz is mostly closed to vessel traffic, leaving QatarEnergy unable to ship LNG to customers in Asia and Europe via its usual route.

The contracts also reflect broader changes in global LNG markets. The International Energy Agency estimates that about 300 billion cubic metres of new LNG export capacity will come online worldwide between 2025 and 2030, increasing global supply capacity by around 50%. More than half of this new capacity is expected to come from the United States, while Qatar is projected to contribute roughly another quarter.

This build-out places both countries at the centre of the next phase of LNG trade. Qatar aims to nearly double its LNG export capacity to 110 million metric tons annually in 2029, while the two largest existing U.S. LNG exporters, including Cheniere, plan expansions at plants in Louisiana and Texas. Qatar’s growing role as a major buyer of U.S. LNG, alongside its own large-scale production and expansion plans, illustrates an emerging pattern in which geographic diversification and security of supply have become central to long-term gas contracting.