Asia's LNG Boom Goes Bust Amid Middle East Conflict

A record wave of new liquefied natural gas supply was meant to usher in a prolonged period of lower prices, but the war in the Middle East has caused the world's worst-ever energy crisis and sent prices higher.

The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and damage to Qatar's LNG export plant have led to a loss of faith in LNG as a reliable and affordable energy source, with countries in Asia rethinking their energy strategies.

Importers in India and Bangladesh are rethinking their use of LNG, while others like Vietnam and the Philippines are looking at alternatives. Some are investing more in renewables and domestic gas fields to curb reliance on LNG imports.

Energy analyst ICIS now sees global output dropping by 0.4% in 2026, assuming a five-month outage at the Ras Laffan plant in Qatar, which would be the first contraction in at least a decade.