The new deals and timing
QatarEnergy agreed to buy 3 million tons per year from Woodside's Louisiana LNG development for two decades. Woodside says construction of the project is targeted to finish by 2029, while QatarEnergy separately indicated first cargoes are expected in 2030.
Just a week earlier, the Qatari company inked a separate contract with Cheniere for an additional 4 million tons each year, beginning in the early 2030s and running through 2054. President and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said, "These additional volumes make QatarEnergy the largest buyer of LNG from the US," adding the move supports the company's "long-term growth and diversification strategy."
Why it matters for supply
These US arrangements will not unlock volumes stuck inside the Persian Gulf, but they expand QatarEnergy's future slate of supply. The Woodside contract covers about 18% of the Louisiana project's planned combined capacity of 16.5 million tons a year.
Woodside had already lined up offtake from the same site, signing a 13-year agreement last year with Uniper SE to supply 1 million tons annually.
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Operations, risks, and the investor read
Capacity at QatarEnergy's Ras Laffan complex was damaged at the outset of the Iran war, and the company expects repairs to stretch over years. Its expansions could also slip if the conflict persists. For now, with transit through the Strait of Hormuz still risky, the company has sharply scaled back exports from Gulf LNG trains that were not physically hit.
Context helps: Ras Laffan shipped 82 million tons in 2025, roughly one fifth of global LNG trade. BloombergNEF noted a month over month uptick in Qatari LNG exiting the region in October, but there are concerns supplies could be trimmed if the US resumes strikes against Iran after next week's midterm elections. QatarEnergy has also extended a force majeure covering deliveries to some customers in Europe and Asia through year end.
QatarEnergy is also a partner in Texas-based Golden Pass LNG, which remains in its startup period and is ultimately expected to have capacity of 18 million tons per year. The bottom line: the company is spreading its sourcing beyond the Gulf even as conflict risk and repairs keep today's supply picture tight - dynamics that ripple through LNG pricing and, by extension, energy equities and shipping names tied to the trade.
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