LONDON, March 23, 2026, 18:20 GMT
- Dutch TTF gas hovered close to 56 euros per megawatt hour on Monday, giving up initial gains after Washington hinted at potential discussions with Tehran.
- Qatar’s export capacity remains down by 17% due to ongoing damage, forcing Italy to look elsewhere—Algeria, the United States, and Azerbaijan—for alternative gas supplies.
- Cheniere reported operations running above its listed maximum capacity. Shares climbed, shrugging off a drop in U.S. Henry Hub gas prices.
European natural gas prices swung sharply on Monday, eventually settling about 5% lower. Dutch TTF, the region’s key wholesale contract, hovered near 56 euros per megawatt hour after hints of easing tensions between Washington and Tehran took some heat out of the latest spike. Even with the pullback, prices have surged approximately 84% in the last month.
That’s key as Europe heads into spring, the period when governments and utilities ramp up gas purchases to stockpile for winter. On Monday, the European Commission said supplies across the bloc are safe for now but urged member states to kick off injections sooner and tap storage flexibilities to keep prices in check and prevent a late-summer scramble.
The disruption remains acute. Saad al-Kaabi, head of QatarEnergy, told Reuters last week that Iranian strikes had sidelined 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity—equivalent to 12.8 million tonnes a year—for a period stretching three to five years. On Monday, Italy announced it was securing additional supplies from Algeria, the U.S., and Azerbaijan after Qatar informed Edison it would miss April shipments.
Trouble isn’t limited to Qatar—ADNOC Gas on Monday reported it has temporarily tweaked both LNG and export-traded liquids production. The reason: shipping snarls continue in the Strait of Hormuz. Inspections turned up no damage to the main processing systems, the company said.
Executives aren’t expecting a fast fix. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, speaking at CERAWeek in Houston, put it plainly: “it will take time to come out of this.” He added that Asia’s already dealing with “real concerns about supply.” Kaabi didn’t mince words either: “For production to restart, first we need hostilities to cease.” Reuters
U.S. exporters might be able to plug a bit of the shortfall, but there’s not much left in the tank. Cheniere Energy reported it’s already operating above its stated maximum capacity and won’t have any extra LNG to offer until new plants come online later this year. The company plans to reroute more of its cargoes toward Asia, cutting back shipments to Europe. According to Council data, the U.S. covered nearly 58% of EU LNG imports in 2025.
Gas prices and energy stocks took different paths on Monday. U.S. Henry Hub futures dropped 5.6% to $2.921 per mmBtu, according to CME Group, even as Cheniere climbed 2.2% by the afternoon, Exxon ticked up 0.9%, and TotalEnergies’ U.S. shares barely moved. Kaabi noted Exxon holds stakes in two of the affected Qatari LNG trains.
The retreat might prove temporary. TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne warned that any disruption stretching past “three to four months” could become “a systemic risk to the global economy.” Brussels, meanwhile, pushed for early storage injections—anxious about a potential supply crunch this summer if Hormuz remains blocked or diplomatic efforts falter. Reuters
