JERA CEO Warns LNG Prices Have Further to Climb Amid Qatari Supply Hurdles

State-owned QatarEnergy has extended a force majeure on liquefied natural gas deliveries to Asia and Europe through the end of November, according to OilPrice. LNG cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked amid a protracted U.S.-Iran stalemate over the chokepoint and pathways to end the war.

The lack of supply from Qatar has pushed Asian spot LNG prices and Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices to the highest levels since the 2022-2023 crisis. Yukio Kani, chairman and global chief executive officer of JERA, told Bloomberg TV in an interview on Friday that the company does not expect Qatari LNG to return to the market soon.

Storage Levels and Market Pressures

According to OilPrice, the spot price of LNG will likely increase further amid historically low levels of gas in Europe’s storage sites and an upcoming European Union ban on Russian LNG scheduled for January 2027. Gas storage sites in the European Union were 71% full as of October 1, compared to 86% for this time of year over the past five years.

Major economies such as Germany report even lower filling levels, standing at approximately 58% full. Price-sensitive buyers in Asia are scrambling for alternatives, increasing coal consumption and boosting renewable energy generation targets to avoid supply crunches.

Key facts

• JERA chairman and global CEO Yukio Kani stated that Qatari LNG is not expected to return to the market soon.
• QatarEnergy extended its force majeure on LNG deliveries to Asia and Europe through the end of November.
• EU gas storage sites were 71% full as of October 1, while German storage sites stood at 58% full.
• LNG cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.