QatarEnergy to buy up to 4 million tons of US LNG through 2054

Summary

• QatarEnergy signed two long-term deals with Cheniere for up to 4 million tons annually.
• Supplies run from Louisiana's Sabine Pass and Texas's Corpus Christi, starting 2031 through 2054.
• The world's top LNG exporter becomes a buyer, adding volumes that avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest

Up to 4 million tons a year of American LNG will flow into QatarEnergy's trading portfolio from 2031 under two long-term agreements signed with Cheniere Energy in Doha on Thursday, 22 October 2026. The supply runs through 2054 on a free-on-board basis. QatarEnergy said the purchase expands and diversifies its global portfolio and strengthens its supply and trading position.

Details

• The volumes: The two agreements cover up to 4 million tons per annum of liquefied natural gas, according to Qatar News Agency. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2031 and continue until 2054, a 23-year supply window. QatarEnergy did not disclose how the volume is split between the two US facilities.
• The sources: The LNG will come from Cheniere's Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana and Corpus Christi plant in Texas, both on the US Gulf Coast. The purchase is on a free-on-board basis, meaning QatarEnergy takes title at the loading port and controls where each cargo is shipped.
• Who signed: Saad bin Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, signed for the Qatari side. Jack Fusco, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cheniere Energy, signed for the US company. The ceremony took place in Doha.
• Qatar's framing: Al-Kaabi described the signing as an important milestone in QatarEnergy's LNG strategy, saying it would expand the company's global portfolio and increase its diversification. He added that the volumes complement existing supply and reinforce QatarEnergy's supply and trading position for customers worldwide.
• The value: Neither company disclosed the financial value of the two contracts. No pricing formula, indexation basis or payment structure was announced, leaving the commercial terms of a deal stretching almost three decades undisclosed at signing.
• The role reversal: Qatar ranks among the world's largest LNG exporters, and the agreements place it on the buying side of long-term American supply. The volumes are destined for QatarEnergy's trading book rather than domestic consumption, adding cargoes it can resell into markets where its own production is less competitive on freight.
• The route: US Gulf Coast cargoes load far from the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which Qatari LNG shipments must transit. The purchase gives QatarEnergy supply that reaches European and Atlantic buyers without passing that corridor.
• The timing gap: Deliveries start in 2031, five years after signing, a lag consistent with long-lead liquefaction capacity. Neither side announced whether the volumes are tied to specific trains or expansion phases at Sabine Pass or Corpus Christi.

Background

Qatar has built its LNG business on long-term sale contracts with Asian and European buyers, and is expanding output through the North Field projects. Buying foreign volumes for resale is a trading strategy rather than a production one, letting the company serve customers from loading points closer to their markets.

Between the lines

Two signals sit in the structure of the deal. The free-on-board basis means QatarEnergy, not Cheniere, decides each cargo's destination, which is the defining feature of a trading portfolio rather than a supply contract. And with deliveries running to 2054 from US Gulf Coast terminals, Doha is locking in volumes that reach Atlantic buyers without the Hormuz transit its own production depends on.

What's next

Watch for disclosure of pricing terms or the volume split between Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi, and for any Cheniere announcement tying the agreements to specific liquefaction trains or expansion phases ahead of the 2031 start.

Source: Qatar News Agency (QNA), The Peninsula