据Shery Ahn和Stephen Stapczynski报道，全球最大的液化天然气买家负责人预计霍尔木兹海峡的航运中断将持续，这将进一步减少来自该地区的供应。在中东战争之前，该地区曾占全球供应量的五分之一。
By Shery Ahn and Stephen Stapczynski The head of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas buyer expects disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz to persist, further curtailing flows from a region that accounted for about a fifth of global supply before the Middle East war.
‘我们预计卡塔尔的液化天然气不会很快重返市场，’日本Jera公司的董事长兼首席执行官Yukio Kani在周五接受彭博电视采访时表示。
“We don’t expect Qatar LNG coming back to the market soon,” Yukio Kani, chairman and global chief executive officer of Japan’s Jera Co., said on Bloomberg TV on Friday.
液化天然气现货价格是去年的两倍，‘市场参与者对即将到来的冬季感到担忧。’
LNG spot prices are double this time last year, and “market participants worry about this coming winter,” he said.
在冲突之前，卡塔尔是全球第二大液化天然气供应国，其供应的缺失导致现货价格在上个月达到了2022年末以来的最高水平。
The lack of LNG from Qatar — the world’s second-largest supplier before the conflict — helped send spot prices to the highest level since late 2022 last month.
市场紧张局势加剧了欧洲和亚洲之间的竞争——这两个地区都是这种超低温燃料的主要买家——它们都在寻求来自美国和其他地方的替代供应。
The tighter market threatens greater competition between Europe and Asia — home to the biggest buyers of the super-chilled fuel — for alternate supply from the US and elsewhere.
虽然9月份通过霍尔木兹海峡从卡塔尔和阿拉伯联合酋长国输送的液化天然气量达到了伊朗战争开始以来的最高水平，但根据Kpler的数据，运输量仍比2月低80%。
While LNG flows through Hormuz from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates increased in September to the highest level since the Iran war began, transit is still 80% below February, according to Kpler.
卡塔尔上个月将向亚洲的长期客户的运输延期至11月，向欧洲的运输延期至12月。
Qatar last month extended force majeure on shipments to long-term customers in Asia to November, and Europe to December.
Kani表示，欧洲的天然气储存量处于季节性低点，再加上欧盟从1月起禁止进口俄罗斯液化天然气的政策，‘表明现货价格将进一步上涨。’
Kani said that seasonally low gas storage levels in Europe, coupled with a European Union policy to ban Russian LNG imports from January, “suggest that the spot price will go up further.”
他说：‘如果欧洲遭遇严冬，他们将不得不购买液化天然气来为人们提供供暖。’因此，欧洲可能会面临非常困难的局面。'
If Europe has a “severe winter, they have no choice but to buy LNG to provide heating energy for people,” he said. “So Europe may be in a very difficult situation.”