(Updates to add details from Edison statement from paragraphs 1-5; removes market chatter tag)
Italian energy company Edison on Tuesday disclosed that QatarEnergy has extended a force majeure on the company's deliveries till September-end, which will prevent the Qatar-based state-owned liquefied natural gas giant from delivering three scheduled LNG cargoes.
"QatarEnergy has informed Edison that it will not be able to deliver an additional 3 LNG cargoes scheduled for the Adriatic LNG receiving terminal in Italy," Edison said in a statement.
The company said 24 LNG cargoes, equivalent to about 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas, were now covered by the force majeure period from the beginning of April to the end of September.
Edison said that as of Tuesday it has replaced 17 LNG cargoes or about 1.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas at the Adriatic LNG terminal and added that it was capable of securing alternative gas supplies to meet all customer commitments.
Edison has a 25-year contract with QatarEnergy for the supply of 6.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to Italy, effective from 2009, the statement added.
Meanwhile, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, QatarEnergy has further prolonged force majeure for LNG shipments for Asian and European buyers amid continued energy supply disruptions due to the Middle East conflict.
QatarEnergy has extended the force majeure on deliveries for its European customers until the end of September, up from earlier in that month, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
It has also extended force majeure to Asian buyers, including Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, into September.has reached out to QatarEnergy for comments.
The extension has tightened global supply as Europe and Asia compete for limited alternative cargoes to rebuild inventories ahead of winter. QatarEnergy first suspended deliveries to buyers in March following the outbreak of the war and has been extending the force majeure clause since, the report said.