Arab LNG exports slump by a quarter with key facilities damaged

• Hormuz blockade another factor
• Steep fall for Qatar and UAE
• Arab share of global trade below 20%

Arab exports of liquefied natural gas declined by nearly a quarter in the first three months of 2026 due to the closure of Strait of Hormuz and the damage to key gas facilities in Qatar, according to an official report.

LNG exports by Qatar, the UAE and other Arab gas producers slumped to about 22 million tonnes in the first quarter of this year from almost 29 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2025, the Kuwaiti-based Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) said in its quarterly report.

The decline followed a steep fall in LNG exports by Qatar and the UAE despite increases in the exports of Oman and Mauritania, the report said.

Qatar, which controls the world’s third largest proven gas deposits, emerged as the key victim after its gas facilities in Ras Laffan were directly hit by Iranian missiles in March during the conflict between Iran and the US-Israeli alliance.

The damage, coupled with the blockade of Hormuz, depressed Qatar’s LNG exports by more than a third to 14.5 million tonnes in the first quarter of this year from 22 million tonnes in the same period of last year, said OAPEC.

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“The decline in the Arab states’ LNG exports during the first quarter of this year depressed their share of the global LNG trade to below 20 percent for the first time in many years,” the report said.

It showed UAE LNG exports also plunged by about 39 percent to around 1 million tonnes from 1.6 million tonnes during that period.

Algeria’s LNG exports declined to 2 million tonnes from 2.2 million tonnes, while Oman’s increased to 3.2 million tonnes from 3 million tonnes. 

Iranian attacks during the conflict and the closure of Hormuz came as several regional countries were advancing plans to expand gas production.

Last year Jamal Loughani, OAPEC’s then secretary general, said that gas projects in the Gulf and other regional countries would boost the total Arab LNG export capacity to its highest level of about 192 million tonnes in 2027.

He said back then that capacity was currently estimated at about 110 million tonnes per year and that the bulk of the projected increase would come from Qatar, Oman, the UAE and Mauritania.
Qatar, the world’s second largest LNG exporter in 2025, plans to boost its export capacity of 77 million tonnes by 85 percent to nearly 142 million tonnes in 2030, an increase of 65 million tonnes from projects at its gigantic offshore North Field.