Poland's Orlen Cancels Qatar LNG Supply Deal After Months of Force Majeure — Update

By Giulia Petroni

Polish energy company Orlen has terminated a long-term liquefied natural gas supply contract with QatarEnergy, marking the first-known cancellation of an agreement with the Qatari exporter since the Iran war began.

State-owned QatarEnergy previously supplied about a fifth of the world's LNG but has been unable to meet its contractual obligations since March, when the conflict disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian strikes damaged its main export hub.

QatarEnergy didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company has long-term LNG supply agreements with other European energy companies, including Italy's Eni and Edison, Shell and TotalEnergies. Buyers in Asia include China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec, Pakistan State Oil, India's Petronet LNG and Japan's Jera.

Despite extensive damage to its facilities and persistent threats to shipping in the Gulf, tracking data from Kpler showed activity at Qatar's Ras Laffan export terminal has recently increased, with 35 vessels moored at the facility last month compared with 21 in September.

Orlen said Tuesday that it had terminated the contract due to "the continuing force majeure resulting in a lack of supplies." Originally scheduled to run until 2034, the agreement covered the annual supply of 1 million metric tons of LNG and had an estimated value of around 570 million euros ($636.5 million) this year.

The company said the move wouldn't affect the security of its gas supply, as production from its own fields and deliveries under other long-term agreements would be sufficient to meet the group's needs.

Orlen produces gas in the Norwegian sea and has a 20-year agreement with U.S. LNG exporter Venture Global for deliveries from its Plaquemines terminal in Louisiana. A separate long-term deal with QatarEnergy, covering up to 1 million tons of LNG a year through 2034, remains in place.

Orlen's decision is seen as an important test case for QatarEnergy's long-term contract portfolio, but isn't expected to trigger widespread cancellations in Asia in the near term, according to some analysts.

"While prolonged force majeure may provide contractual exit rights, many Asian buyers still value their legacy Qatar supply arrangements, particularly where pricing remains competitive and alternative supply is costly," said Go Katayama, LNG and gas analyst at Kpler.

Instead, the greater near-term risk for QatarEnergy could be a wave of contract renegotiations, with buyers seeking more flexible delivery terms, price concessions and stronger supply guarantees.

Orlen's move, meanwhile, could have been influenced by the contract's pricing, Kpler analysts said, adding that some traders suggested the deal might have been priced at around 16% of crude prices, well above the 12.5% rate typical of some more recent oil-indexed LNG contracts. The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the terminated contract's pricing.

Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 11, 2026 08:16 ET (13:16 GMT)