Edison says Qatar still evaluating impact of Iran attack on LNG supply

By Francesca Landini

MILAN, March 31 (Reuters) - QatarEnergy has yet to update its liquefied natural gas (LNG) customers on the impacts of recent attacks on its gas plants, Edison EDNn.MI CEO Nicola Monti said on Tuesday.

Monti said a pause in LNG supply until mid‑June, which QatarEnergy notified the Italian utility of last week, was mainly due to the shipping blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

But the consequences of Iranian attacks on Qatar LNG plants, which QatarEnergy's CEO told Reuters earlier this month had knocked out 17% of its LNG export capacity, were not included in notifications received so far, Monti told a conference in Milan.

"The Qataris give us progressive notifications as they gain visibility on the situation, and they have not yet had – as they told us – the possibility to make an accurate assessment of the damage caused by Iranian bombings," the Edison CEO said.

Edison has a long‑term contract with QatarEnergy to receive 6.4 billion cubic meters of gas per year, around 10% of Italy's total annual consumption.

Monti said QatarEnergy was committed to mitigating the impact of the recent disruptions on its long‑term customers, while an agreement with LNG supplier Venture Global VG.N would also help reduce the effects of missed Qatari deliveries.

Venture Global and Edison said last week they had reached an agreement to settle a long‑running arbitration dispute. As part of the deal, Venture Global will supply Edison with additional LNG cargoes beyond those in their long‑term contract, primarily to support deliveries to the Italian market.

"It may be that after our announcement someone else thinks about it and sits down at the table," Monti said when asked if other companies in arbitration with Venture Global might choose to settle their disputes.