Edison Raises Qatari Gas Cargoes Under Force Majeure to 35 Through Early December
Key Facts
Edison said a total of 35 Qatari liquefied natural gas cargoes were subject to force majeure from early April to early December 2026, equivalent to about 4.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The move follows a formal extension announced by the company on September 28, covering six additional cargoes and keeping the suspension in place through early December. The figures show the widening impact of the supply halt on the contract between Edison and QatarEnergy. An earlier draft had attributed to the company a new extension through the end of December and three additional cargoes, but Edison's latest available official statement sets the period through early in the month and cites six additional cargoes. The company said the force majeure event still prevents it from meeting its gas delivery obligations to Italy.
By September 28, Edison had replaced 23 cargoes at the Adriatic LNG terminal, equivalent to about 2.3 billion cubic meters, according to its statement. That volume is below the total number of affected cargoes, showing the scale of supplies the company had to secure from alternative sources during the period. Edison affirmed that it could provide replacement gas to all its customers. It said it would "fully meet its past and future commercial obligations." The commitment puts securing supplies for customers and honoring contracts at the forefront of the company's response to the continued suspension of Qatari cargoes.
The suspension is tied to a long-term contract to supply gas to Italy, with a contractual volume of 6.4 billion cubic meters a year. The contract took effect in 2009 and has a total term of 25 years, according to Edison. Since April, Qatari cargoes to the company have been halted under a force majeure notice, Reuters reported, citing Edison, linking the notice to disruptions caused by the U.S.-Iran war. In April, Edison's chief executive said the company had bought seven liquefied natural gas cargoes from the United States after QatarEnergy canceled ten cargoes scheduled between April and mid-June. Company data show that replacement efforts later extended to additional cargoes, with the total affected rising to 17 on May 25, of which nine had been replaced by that date.
The number of cargoes covered by the notice increased over the year. On July 28, QatarEnergy added three cargoes, bringing the total to 24 cargoes, with a volume of about 3 billion cubic meters, while the suspension remained in place through the end of September. Edison then said in a September 28 statement that six additional cargoes had been placed under force majeure, bringing the total for the period to 35 cargoes and about 4.6 billion cubic meters. This sequence places the latest extension within a series of updates that widened the scope of affected supplies. Reuters also reported that Qatar exported 18 liquefied natural gas cargoes through the end of August, compared with 509 cargoes in the same period a year earlier, and estimated the decline at about 96%.
In market developments, Reuters said restrictions on Qatari supplies would intensify competition between European and Asian buyers for available global volumes ahead of the winter heating season and keep gas prices high. In Italy, the consumer price index rose 4.2% year over year in September, compared with 3.3% in August, and increased 0.7% month over month, according to the Italian statistics office. The office attributed the acceleration in energy inflation to regulated energy prices rising 25.8% year over year from 18.6%, and non-regulated prices rising 22.5% from 17.0%. The office set October 30 as the date for publishing the preliminary October consumer price reading. The statistics office statement does not attribute September's acceleration to Edison's cargoes; it presents energy price movements as part of the inflation components.