QatarEnergy has extended force majeure (a contract exemption for extraordinary disruption) on liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries to European and Asian customers as regular shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains largely halted. Italian utility Edison said another five cargoes scheduled between late September and early November could not be delivered, bringing the total affected under its contract since April to 29, or about 3.8 billion cubic metres of gas. Edison has replaced 21 cargoes, equivalent to roughly 2 billion cubic metres, and said it could continue meeting customer commitments. Cancellations are also expected to continue into October for buyers in Pakistan, while Bangladesh could face disruption beyond September; other European buyers have received similar notices. QatarEnergy first declared force majeure in March and has renewed it monthly because it lacks a reliable date for normal exports to resume. The disruption reduced Qatar’s exports to 18 cargoes in the first six months of the war, from 509 a year earlier, costing an estimated $24 billion (€20.7 billion) in lost gas sales, according to ICIS data. Additional supply from the United States, Canada, Nigeria and Malaysia has only partly offset the shortfall. Asian consumers have reduced gas use or switched fuels, while Europe has drawn more from storage and competed less aggressively for expensive spot cargoes. Anne-Sophie Corbeau of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy said Pakistan, Bangladesh and India were especially exposed, while Japan was better protected by limited Qatari purchases and more long-term contracts. China has so far managed the loss of Qatari LNG, while Europe has coped partly through storage withdrawals that have left inventories lower. New export capacity in the United States, Canada, Australia and Nigeria could gradually increase non-Qatari supply, but the global market may not regain the more comfortable balance previously expected by mid-2026 until 2028. QatarEnergy expects to restore output from 12 undamaged LNG units within about two months once Hormuz is secure, while repairs to two units damaged at Ras Laffan could take three to five years. A brief resumption after a June memorandum between the United States and Iran ended when renewed attacks increased shipping risks.