finance
Natural Gas Markets Expected to Rebalance in Third Quarter as Hormuz Reopens
The head of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum said markets will begin to stabilize in the next quarter once the Strait of Hormuz reopens. Qatar is restoring LNG output after damage from the Middle East conflict.
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Natural gas markets are on course to return to balance in the third quarter as the Strait of Hormuz reopens, Philip Mshelbila, head of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, said. “If we assume that the Strait is now open and will remain open, our view is actually that in the course of this next quarter we will begin to see some re-stabilization in the market,” Mshelbila said at the Reuters Global Energy Forum.
The GECF groups producer countries that account for as much as 70 percent of global natural gas resources.
The Middle East war disrupted a sizable portion of global liquefied natural gas flows after Iran struck its Persian Gulf neighbors in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes on its own energy infrastructure. Qatar suffered substantial damage to its LNG hub at Ras Laffan, which led to production outages and a declaration of force majeure on LNG exports.
The prime minister of Qatar said LNG production will return to normal, except for the damaged facilities, within a few weeks. Mshelbila added that gas flows are expected to reach pre-war levels in the final quarter of the year. The conflict had pushed natural gas prices to their highest level since 2022, with Europe facing particular supply pressure after losing Russian pipeline flows.
