Business force majeure

QatarEnergy, Shell plc Declare LNG Force Majeure

Analysis based on 12 articles · First reported Mar 11, 2026 · Last updated Mar 11, 2026

Sentiment

-70

Attention

Articles

Market Impact

Direct

Live prominence charts, article sentiment distribution, and event development timeline available on the NewsDesk Dashboard

Market Impact

The force majeure declarations by QatarEnergy and subsequently by Shell plc are expected to disrupt global LNG supplies, particularly impacting deliveries from April onwards. This could lead to increased volatility in natural gas prices and affect the energy security of importing nations.

Oil and gas Energy Shipping

Event Summary

QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company of Qatar, has declared force majeure on its LNG shipments following a production halt at its 77 million tons per annum facility. This action has led Shell plc, the world's largest LNG trader and a major buyer of Qatari LNG, to declare force majeure on cargoes it sells to its clients worldwide. Other buyers, including TotalEnergies and some Asian companies, have also received force majeure notices from QatarEnergy. The disruption is expected to affect LNG deliveries from April and could last for 'weeks to months', according to Qatar's Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi. Both Shell plc and TotalEnergies are partners in QatarEnergy's North Field expansion project, which aims to boost capacity by 2027.

Key Actions

100 QatarEnergy announced a production halt at its LNG facility

100 QatarEnergy declared force majeure on LNG shipments

90 Shell plc declared force majeure on LNG cargoes

20 OQ declared force majeure to its customer

Entities Involved

priv

QatarEnergy

QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company of Qatar, announced a production halt at its 77 million tons per annum facility and declared force majeure on LNG shipments. This directly impacts its buyers like Shell plc and TotalEnergies, and is expected to cause delays in deliveries for weeks to months.

Importance 100 Sentiment -70

stock

Shell plc

Shell plc, the world's largest liquefied natural gas trader, has declared force majeure on LNG cargoes it buys from QatarEnergy and sells to its clients worldwide. This action is due to QatarEnergy's own force majeure declaration, impacting Shell plc's ability to fulfill its contractual obligations.

Importance 90 Sentiment -60

cnt

Qatar

Qatar, as the world's second-largest exporter of LNG, is experiencing a production halt at its LNG facility, leading to QatarEnergy's force majeure declaration. This event has significant implications for global LNG supply and Qatar's role in the energy market.

Importance 80 Sentiment -50

stock

TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies, another major buyer of Qatari LNG, has received force majeure notices from QatarEnergy. While TotalEnergies itself has not declared force majeure, its ability to sell Qatari LNG to customers is affected by the production halt.

Importance 70 Sentiment -30

per

Saad Sherida al-Kaabi

Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, Qatar's Energy Minister, stated that it would take 'weeks to months' to return to normal LNG deliveries, highlighting the severity and duration of the supply disruption.

Importance 40 Sentiment -50

priv

OQ, an Omani trading house, has reportedly declared force majeure to its customer in Bangladesh due to halted Qatari supply, indicating a broader impact of QatarEnergy's production issues.

Importance 20 Sentiment -30

Relationships

Shell plc related ↔ QatarEnergy

TotalEnergies related ↔ QatarEnergy

Shell plc related ↔ QatarEnergy

TotalEnergies related ↔ QatarEnergy

Saad Sherida al-Kaabi related ↔ Qatar

Shell plc related ↔ Qatar

Shell plc related ↔ TotalEnergies

QatarEnergy related ↔ Qatar

Qatar related ↔ TotalEnergies

NEWSDESK

Track this event live

Set up alerts, explore entity relationships, search across thousands of events, and build custom intelligence feeds.

Open Dashboard