Qatar to Delay, Reschedule Some LNG Shipments to Europe

Qatar has informed some European buyers it will delay and reschedule some of its LNG shipments as the diversions away from the Red Sea via the Cape of Good Hope cause longer travel times for tankers according to traders with knowledge of the matter, cited by Bloomberg.

• Qatar is reshuffling global supply to meet contractual obligations, diverting deliveries from elsewhere and swapping available cargoes near Europe, the traders said.
• Italy’s Edison said it was informed that a cargo scheduled for 31 Jan to 5 Feb arrival at the Adriatic terminal will not be delivered according to message posted on the Gestore Mercati Energetici.
• Last week, Qatar had changed course of the Al Gattara LNG vessel to the Adriatic terminal in Italy, after it was first headed to Zeebrugge, ICIS LNG Edge data showed.
• At least six shipments originated from Qatar and destined for Europe have been diverted around the Cape of Good Hope since 15 January, Bloomberg ship tracking data showed, adding around nine days of journey time to for example the UK.
• Despite the diversions, Qatar’s LNG exports over the last two weeks were 7% higher year on year, ship tracking data showed.
• S&P Global Commodity at Sea data suggested late last week that two of Qatar’s laden LNG tankers diverted away from the Red Sea to sail to the Canary Islands for bunkering.