INTERVIEW: Singapore secures LNG to replace Qatar supply through 2026, regulator says

Singapore has secured enough replacement cargoes to offset disrupted supplies from Qatar through the end of 2026, Singapore Energy Market Authority Chief Executive Puah Kok Keong said in a June 3 interview in Houston.

Qatar had been supplying about one cargo per month to Singapore prior to the war in the Middle East, accounting for about 10% city-state's total gas demand before shipments stopped in April. To cover the lost volumes, Puah said Singapore procured cargoes from suppliers including the US, Australia and Africa.

Natural gas supplies 95% of Singapore's power generation, with about half coming from pipelines connected to Malaysia and Indonesia and the other half from LNG imports. That makes securing the alternative gas sources critical for sustaining the power needs of the Singapore economy, Puah told Platts, part of S&P Global, at a Singapore International Energy Week event in Houston organized by the regulator.

"They will be sufficient to replace whatever lost cargoes from Qatar all the way until the end of the year," Puah said. "While we do have the molecules coming in, it does mean the prices have gone up."

Even without the physical loss of LNG supply, many of the gas contracts in Singapore are linked to Brent crude prices that have also risen because of the war, which is continuing to constrain about a fifth of global oil and LNG supplies that normally transit the Strait of Hormuz.

The regulatory chief said Singapore Gasco, a company formed a year ago to centralize natural gas procurement for the power sector, was instrumental in securing the replacement cargoes. In addition to those volumes, Puah said Singapore's contracts provide some flexibility to procure more gas from other existing suppliers.

Still, the loss of Qatari volumes represents a significant supply disruption for the city-state. Qatar accounted for about 48% of Singapore's LNG imports in 2025, or about 3.2 million metric tons, according to S&P Global Energy CERA data.

Flexible approach

Singapore maintains flexibility in its approach to the replacement LNG supply. If Qatari supplies resume before year-end, Singapore has options to divert, trade or swap the replacement cargoes, Puah said.

"We have to keep our options open and our plans nimble, so if the conflict ends and the gas from Qatar resumes, I think we will look at what we will do with the cargoes that we have secured," Puah said.

Puah described Singapore's approach of seeking alternative cargoes through December as a move to ensure the country's energy security rather than a prediction for how long the supply disruptions would persist. Singapore will decide later whether to procure more replacement cargoes for 2027, depending on how the situation unfolds in the Middle East.

Global LNG spot prices remain elevated and volatile.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the July JKM benchmark price for cargo delivered to Northeast Asia at $19.011/million British thermal units on June 3, up 44.9 cents/MMBtu from the previous assessment and about 78% higher than pre-war levels.

For Singapore, the supply shock has resulted in electricity price increases between 5% and 10% for consumers renewing electricity contracts, Puah said. Consumers with fixed-price contracts signed before March have not seen price changes.

In addition to securing replacement LNG cargoes, Singapore has encouraged energy conservation measures and energy efficiency improvements to help mitigate the impacts of the lost volumes from Qatar.

Diversification push

The Middle East crisis has accelerated Singapore's efforts to diversify its gas supply sources in terms of both geography and pricing. US LNG contracts typically use Henry Hub pricing, "and that will also provide some diversification in terms of a price shock," Puah explained.

"When we look at what we need to do to plan our portfolio for natural gas over the medium to long term, quite clearly we want diversification to not be too dependent on any single source," Puah said.

Puah said Singapore is considering increased procurement from US suppliers. The energy chief said he had meetings with Chevron, Shell, Exxon, JERA and Cheniere during his trip to the US, which included a visit to the Sabine Pass LNG export terminal in Louisiana.

"The massive expansion of gas production and LNG production in the US also means that, quite clearly, it will have to be a supplier that buyers like Singapore and Asia will have to consider," Puah said. Qatar, too, he said, once the LNG giant can resume normal shipments.

"They have big expansions going on," Puah said. "Therefore, any LNG buyers in Asia also cannot ignore the kind of supply that will come out from the Middle East."