Persian Gulf LNG Transits Drop to 0.2 Cargoes a Day After July 7 QatarEnergy Attack
Updated
Updated · Daily Sabah · Jul 19
Persian Gulf LNG Transits Drop to 0.2 Cargoes a Day After July 7 QatarEnergy Attack
3 articles · Updated · Daily Sabah · Jul 19
Summary
Only one LNG cargo exited the Persian Gulf in the past week, with laden transits through Hormuz falling to a 10-day average of 0.2 cargoes a day by July 15 from about 0.8 in late June.
S&P Global Energy linked the drop to the July 7 strike on QatarEnergy LNG’s Al Rekayyat and renewed U.S.-Iran escalation, saying shipowners have turned more cautious despite the June 17 transit deal.
QatarEnergy LNG and ADNOC LNG have still kept production and loadings relatively robust, leaving more cargo stranded on tankers inside the Gulf rather than cutting output.
Seven laden Qatari carriers were holding about 0.57 million metric tons of LNG by mid-July, while nearly 1.9 million metric tons of tanker capacity inside the Gulf equals roughly eight days of typical pre-war peak exports.
If Hormuz transit eases, those waiting vessels could quickly lift exports and improve global LNG supply, though S&P expects intermittent disruption while security risks stay high.
With millions of tons of LNG trapped, how close is the world to a global energy supply crisis?
Is the costly race to build bypass pipelines now the only real solution for Middle East energy security?
As the US and Iran battle for Hormuz, is this the end of free navigation in vital global chokepoints?
Strait of Hormuz Crisis 2026: Global Energy Shock, Supply Chain Vulnerabilities, and the Accelerated Push for Energy Security
Overview
The crisis began when the fragile détente between Washington and Tehran collapsed on July 7, 2026, leading to renewed attacks and missile strikes on QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan Industrial City and the Pearl GTL facility. This escalation caused major disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy shipments. In response, the US reimposed a blockade on Iran’s ports, launched airstrikes, and announced transit fees as the 'guardian' of the Strait. These actions triggered a market shock, halted energy exports, and exposed deep vulnerabilities in global energy supply chains, prompting urgent calls for resilience and diversification.