Analysis: LNG trade disruption worries ease as Qatari flows to Suez, Egypt resume

* Egypt gets Qatar LNG despite blockade
* Limited impact of UAE’s port restrictions
* Qatar Petroleum: “business as usual”

Concerns over the impact of diplomatic blockade on Qatar on LNG trade flows eased this week, following deliveries of Qatari LNG into Egypt and the transiting of several Qatari vessels through the Suez Canal, a key transport route for Middle East LNG shipments to the European markets.  This came as a relief to LNG traders, who were caught off guard last week when two Qatari cargoes destined for the UK via the Suez Canal turned around off the coast of Yemen and diverted towards South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, raising fears Egypt might have restricted access to the waterway.  Market experts, however, argued the diversion was likely a move by the Qatari government to avoid transiting the Suez Canal and paying US dollar-denominated canal fees to Egypt, among those to have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

“It was likely Qatar’s decision to turn away the two cargoes rather than Egypt’s,” said an Atlantic-based LNG trader.