10 June, 2017
The South Hook LNG import terminal in Milford Haven, south Wales, which opened in 2008, is jointly owned by Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil. Its new destination is unknown.
The Zarga tanker, with a capacity of 262,000 cubic metres, executed a U-turn and appears to be heading back in the direction from which it came, shipping data shows.
The report was surprising and raised questions about whether Qatar vessels were able to move through the Egyptian-controlled Suez Canal.
"Only Egypt and the UAE are boycotting Qatari cargos so they are the only countries that might see USA volume replace Qatari", said Theodore Michael, senior LNG analyst at energy data provider Genscape in Boulder, Colorado. If that were to change, "That would be a massive escalation".
UKOOG, the British shale gas lobby group, said that Qatar's diplomatic crisis was evidence for "why the United Kingdom needs to urgently get on with developing the extensive gas resource beneath our feet". "It does seem to be a rally in sympathy of what's going on in that market and in Europe. Had there been any problem, we could have immediately known", he said.
Ken Cronin, the chief executive at trade group U.K. Onshore Oil and Gas, said the issue highlights why the British government should capitalize on the reserves it has under its own feet.
Meanwhile, oil prices have not been affected by the situation.
None of the LNG produced in Qatar, though, is sold in the United States.
About 60 percent of Qatar's LNG exports go to Asia, and those shipments do not go through the Suez Canal, according to RBC.
Dolphin's three original customers are the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Company, Dubai Supply Authority (Dusup) and Oman Oil Co.
"Production and the export of LNG from our operations have not been impacted" by the diplomatic tension, ConocoPhillips spokeswoman Emma Ahmed said in a statement to Reuters. They are now offshore at Qatar's Ras Laffan facility, and the number of tankers anchored there has risen to 17 from seven since Monday, according to Reuters.
Saudi Arabia and several other nations in the Persian Gulf region severed diplomatic ties with Qatar during the weekend, citing Doha's alleged support for worldwide terrorism. Turkey, Russia and Iran have lined up behind Qatar, and Turkey's parliament has authorized 3,000 troops to Qatar.
