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

Summary

• QatarEnergy signed two long-term deals with Cheniere for up to 4 million tonnes of LNG annually.
• Supplies run from 2031 to 2054 from Sabine Pass in Louisiana and Corpus Christi in Texas.
• The world's top LNG exporter is adding US-sourced volumes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest

Up to 4 million tonnes a year of American liquefied natural gas will flow into QatarEnergy's portfolio under two long-term agreements signed with Cheniere Energy in Doha on Thursday, 22 October 2026. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2031 and run through 2054. The state producer said the purchase widens and diversifies its global LNG book.

Details

• The volume: The two agreements cover up to 4 million tonnes per annum of LNG, sourced from Cheniere's Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana and its Corpus Christi facility in Texas, both on the US Gulf Coast. QatarEnergy did not disclose how the volume is split between the two plants.
• The terms: Both agreements are structured on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, meaning QatarEnergy takes title to the cargoes at the US loading terminal and controls their onward shipping and destination. The commercial value of the two contracts was not disclosed.
• The timeline: Supplies are expected to start in 2031 and continue until 2054, a 23-year delivery window. The agreements were signed on Thursday, 22 October 2026, in Doha.
• 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.
• Qatar's framing: Al-Kaabi said the signing marks an important milestone in QatarEnergy's LNG strategy. He said the purchase will expand the company's global portfolio, increase its diversification, complement its existing supplies and strengthen its supply and trading position for customers worldwide.
• The buyer-seller shift: QatarEnergy is among the world's largest LNG exporters, and the agreements place it on the purchasing side of a long-term American supply contract rather than the selling side — a portfolio move rather than a response to any shortfall in its own production.
• The Hormuz factor: Qatari LNG cargoes load at Ras Laffan and transit the Strait of Hormuz. Volumes lifted at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi reach buyers without passing through the strait, giving QatarEnergy's trading book supply originating outside the Gulf.
• The flexibility: The FOB structure leaves destination choice with QatarEnergy, allowing it to direct US cargoes to European or Asian buyers depending on where prices and demand sit at the time of loading, and to blend them with its own Qatari output.

Background

Cheniere operates the two largest LNG export complexes in the United States, at Sabine Pass in Louisiana and Corpus Christi in Texas. US LNG exports have expanded rapidly over the past decade, making the US Gulf Coast a central supply point for European and Asian buyers.

Between the lines

Al-Kaabi's framing is explicit about trading rather than domestic need: he cited portfolio expansion, diversification and supply and trading strength, not any gap in Qatari output. Taken with the FOB structure, which leaves cargo destinations in QatarEnergy's hands, the deals read as a move to trade volumes originating outside the Gulf — supply that does not depend on Hormuz transit.

What's next

Watch for disclosure of pricing terms or the volume split between Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi, Cheniere's own statement on the agreements, and any further QatarEnergy offtake deals with US producers before first deliveries in 2031.

Source: Qatar News Agency (QNA), The Peninsula