Bangladesh's Petrobangla says 2026 LNG imports from QatarEnergy to fall by 50%

Bangladesh's state-run LNG buyer Petrobangla is set to receive only around half of its planned deliveries for 2026 from QatarEnergy because of the war in the Middle East, Petrobangla's director for operations and mines, Rafiqul Islam, told Platts July 14.

The cut follows QatarEnergy's decision to halt LNG production on March 2, and declaration of "force majeure" two days later, Islam added.

QatarEnergy did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.

Bangladesh had signed a 15-year supply deal with QatarEnergy in 2023 for additional volumes of LNG, with deliveries due to start this year.

Islam said that delivery of some 20 cargoes from QatarEnergy could be affected this year. QatarEnergy was due to supply some 40 LNG cargoes over 2026 in total, or 3.36 MMBtu for each cargo, according to Petrobangla.

According to S&P Global Energy CERA data, Bangladesh received about 60% of its LNG import requirements from Qatar in 2025.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the JKM -- the benchmark price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia -- for August at $19.436/MMBtu on July 14, up from $15.167/MMBtu on June 26.

Islam said that QatarEnergy has extended its force majeure on deliveries every month since it was first declared in March, with its latest extension covering supplies due until the first week of August.