South Korea sees no LNG shortages despite Middle East supply disruptions

South Korea said it sees no LNG shortages despite a production halt in Qatar and disruptions to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, as the country has sufficient stockpiles to buffer any short-term interruptions while preparing to secure alternative supplies.

"The country has sufficient LNG reserves for a considerable period, even if imports from Qatar are completely halted," an official at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said March 5.

QatarEnergy has suspended LNG production due to military attacks on its facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City, according to a March 2 company statement.

"The government has also prepared emergency measures, such as securing alternative supply sources from Southeast Asia, Australia and North America, in case of any emergency," the official said.

South Korea maintains LNG inventories "well above" its mandatory stockpiling requirement of nine days' supply, the official added.

The ministry declined to disclose details on the volume of the country's LNG reserves.

State-run Korea Gas Corp. operates five LNG terminals with 77 tanks, totaling a combined capacity of 12.16 million kiloliters. Power utilities also maintain separate LNG stockpiles in their own storage facilities.

"So, we see no LNG shortages for the time being even without shipments from Qatar," the official said.

Qatar LNG

South Korea imported 6.966 million metric tons of LNG from Qatar in 2025, accounting for 14.9% of its total imports of 46.684 million mt, Korea Customs Service data showed.

The country also imported 1.918 million mt of LNG from Oman, representing 4.1% of its total intake, and 245,397 mt from the UAE, or 0.5% of the total, customs data showed.

Kogas imports a total of 6.1 million mt/year of LNG from Qatar under three term contracts: 2.1 million mt/y for 2007-2026 with RasGas Co., 2 million mt/y for 2013-2032 also with RasGas Co. and 2 million mt/y for 2025-2044 with Qatar Petroleum.

Kogas has also purchased some spot cargoes from Qatar. Other local LNG consumers have not imported Qatari LNG.

"Furthermore, [South] Korea's LNG consumption is forecast to decline during the off-peak spring season, with weak demand for heating and electricity generation over the next several months," the MOTIR official said.

However, the official expressed concerns about surging global LNG prices and competition for alternative supply sources, saying that South Korea is likely to seek larger shipments from the US, Australia or Southeast Asian countries.

Australian LNG

Meanwhile, Australia has recently become South Korea's largest LNG supplier, overtaking Qatar.

In 2025, South Korea imported 14.669 million mt of LNG from Australia, up 28.7% year over year, customs data showed. Australia accounted for 31.4% of its total imports, according to MOTIR.

LNG imports from the US declined 22.2% year over year to 4.384 million mt in 2025, accounting for 9.4% of South Korea's total imports.

However, South Korea has begun increasing shipments from the US since December 2025. Its purchases of US LNG are expected to continue rising this year under the trade package deal concluded in October last year, which requires the country to buy $100 billion worth of US energy products, primarily LNG, over the next four years.

Of the total imports of 46.684 million mt in 2025, about 80% came under term contracts, with the remaining 20% as spot cargoes, according to MOTIR.

Kogas accounted for 73.4% of the country's LNG imports in 2025, while other local LNG consumers made up the remaining 26.6%, the ministry said.