Qatar LNG Exports Resume Through Hormuz

Qatar has exported its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment through the Strait of Hormuz in weeks, according to ship-tracking data. The Al Marrouna tanker, which loaded in Qatar early last month, sailed through the waterway and is now signaling Port Qasim in Pakistan as its next destination.

The transit comes after several empty Qatari LNG tankers started heading back toward the Persian Gulf, a sign that the supplier may be positioning vessels for a resumption of exports through Hormuz even after the recent escalation between the US and Iran in the region.

Qatar had all but halted shipments since one of its tankers was attacked in late July. The country accounted for about 20% of the world's LNG exports before the war, but outbound flows from the Persian Gulf remain below pre-war levels of three shipments a day.