Asia Slashes LNG Imports From Nigeria, Others As Closure Of Strait Cuts Off Cargoes
Asia’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will drop to the lowest in nearly six years in April as closure of the Strait of Hormuz cuts off cargoes from suppliers such as Nigeria, Qatar, and others.
Asia’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will drop to the lowest in nearly six years in April as closure of the Strait of Hormuz cuts off cargoes from suppliers such as Nigeria, Qatar, and others.
Commodity analysts Kpler estimate Asia’s imports of LNG for April at 19.03 million metric tons, down from 20.69 million in March and the winter peak of 26.34 million in December.
April arrivals are the lowest since June 2020 and reflect a sharp loss in volumes from Qatar, which, before the Iran war, supplied around 20% of global LNG, according to statistics from a Reuters report.
Nigeria had recently rapidly increased its LNG exports to Asia, with about 50% of its total LNG volume exported to the region in 2024, driven by top importers India and China.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited expanded its footprint by delivering directly to Japan, while high Asian prices and market demand, exacerbated by Middle East tensions in 2026, often cause European-bound cargoes to be diverted to Asia.
Due to supply disruptions in Qatar and tensions in the Middle East, Nigerian LNG cargoes are being diverted from Europe to Asia as of March 2026 to capitalise on higher regional prices.
However, Bangladesh, a South Asian country, is forecasted to see arrivals of 531,000 tons in April, down from 561,000 tons in March, and its suppliers include the United States, Australia, Oman, Nigeria, and Angola.
In January and February, Bangladesh only received cargoes from Qatar.
Asia’s imports from Qatar are estimated at just 800,000 tons in April as the last of the cargoes that exited the Strait of Hormuz before the U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28 arrive at their destinations.
The average of Asia’s imports from Qatar in the three months leading up to the war against Iran was just over 6 million tons, which was about 88% of Qatar’s total volumes.
Such a sharp loss of Qatari cargoes has forced Asian buyers to adjust, and much of the heavy lifting has been done by China.
Kpler estimates China’s LNG imports at 3.36 million tons in April, the lowest since 3.18 million tons in April 2018 and down from the winter peak of 7.66 million tons in December.
China has also been re-selling cargoes, with LNG exports hitting a record high of 720,000 tons in March, but dropping back to just 30,000 tons in April.
Pakistan’s LNG imports may drop to zero in April as the cargoes being monitored by LSEG for arrival this month are still stuck west of the Strait of Hormuz and therefore unlikely to transit the waterway and sail to Pakistan.
Only two LNG cargoes were discharged in Pakistan in March, delivering 150,000 tons of LNG, down from 479,000 tons in February and 721,000 tons in January, according to LSEG data.
Pakistan gets nearly all of its LNG from Qatar, with only one cargo from another country arriving in the past year, meaning it is extremely vulnerable to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Spot Asian LNG jumped from $10.40 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in the week to February 27 to a high of $25.30 in the seven days to March 20.
The price has since eased to $16.05 per mmBtu in the week to April 17, leaving it 54% higher than pre-war levels.
This compares to a 97% jump in the price of jet fuel in Singapore over the same period and a 59% rise in the price of gasoil, the building block for diesel.
