# LNG Buyers Reroute Supply as Gulf Conflict Raises Hormuz Risk

By John Kim

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/23250
Published: 2026-09-23T12:12:31.000Z
Updated: 2026-09-23T12:12:31.000Z

Asian LNG buyers are widening supplier and shipping options as the U.S.-Iran conflict disrupts Gulf supplies and raises the risks tied to the Strait of Hormuz.

About one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas trade moved through the chokepoint before the conflict. Buyers are now looking beyond the Gulf to protect deliveries and secure replacement cargoes.

Bangladesh, which previously relied heavily on Qatar, is seeking LNG from Indonesia, Australia and China. PetroChina and India’s GAIL secured replacement cargoes outside the Gulf earlier this year.

Thailand’s state-controlled energy group PTT is examining supplies from Oman, North America and West Africa. Its trading arm has also signed a long-term agreement with Norway’s Equinor.

The shift could support emerging producers in Argentina, East Timor and Tanzania, broadening investment beyond the United States and Qatar.

Additional production has covered most of the 36 million metric tons of Gulf supply disrupted by the conflict, but the market still faces a shortfall of about 5 million tons this year. That gap equals roughly 1% to 1.5% of total supply.

The United States is helping fill part of the shortfall. U.S. LNG exports averaged 17.4 billion cubic feet per day during the first half of 2026, up 23% from the same period a year earlier.

The supply shift adds pressure on buyers to manage both geographic concentration and transportation risks. It also increases the importance of new production projects in regions outside the Gulf, including East Africa, where additional LNG capacity is expected from projects involving ExxonMobil.

Maritime traffic in the Gulf of America remains stable.