The world's largest LNG buyer expects Qatari supply to be difficult to restore in the short term.

The head of the world's largest liquefied natural gas buyer expects disruptions to transit through the Strait of Hormuz to persist, further restricting LNG shipments out of the region. Before the Middle East war broke out, the region accounted for about one-fifth of global LNG supply. "We don't expect Qatari LNG to return to the market anytime soon," Yukio Kani, chairman and global CEO of Japan's Jera Co., said in an interview on Friday. He said spot LNG prices are currently double last year's level, and "market participants are worried about the coming winter." Qatar was the world's second-largest LNG supplier before the conflict erupted. The absence of Qatari LNG supply pushed spot prices last month to their highest level since late 2022. Tightening market supply could intensify competition between Europe and Asia for alternative supply from places such as the United States.