The buying spree on the spot market so far in 2026 vastly exceeds the only four U.S. cargoes QatarEnergy bought last year. The cargoes Qatar bought from America were for delivery to key Asian buyers including Japan, South Korea, India, Bangladesh, and Taiwan, according to Reuters’ sources. Of the 33 U.S. LNG cargoes, a total of 28 have been already delivered, and the last five are currently traveling to South Korea, Taiwan, and India, per data from analytics firm Kpler cited by Reuters. Early in the Iran war, QatarEnergy declared force majeure on LNG deliveries following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian drone and missile strikes that damaged Qatar’s key LNG liquefaction complex Ras Laffan. The Middle East is no longer seen as the reliable supplier it was before the conflict began in February.