The war with Iran has caused serious disruptions to the global energy markets. Much of the focus has been on oil tankers trapped on the wrong side of the Strait of Hormuz. However, the Persian Gulf countries export a range of energy and other products, and they must all transport them through the strait.
Furthering the disruptions, Iran has also been aggressive in attacking neighboring countries’ infrastructure, including their energy infrastructure.
On March 18, an Iranian rocket attack hit and damaged Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility. According to a Reuters article, two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids (GTL) facilities were damaged. The attack also impacted condensate, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), helium, and naphtha exports.
The damage took 12.8 million tons per year, or 17% of annual production, offline for up to five years. Lost revenue will be as much as $20 billion, and repairing the facilities will cost additional billions.
Qatar produces (or produced) almost 20% of global LNG for export, making it the second-largest LNG exporter (the U.S., with a 25% market share, comes in first). For 2025, global LNG exports totaled 317.2 million tons. The destruction at the Qatar LNG facility takes 4% of the global supply offline.
The loss of LNG exports from Qatar opens the market to U.S. producers. In the short term, LNG prices will be higher until production grows to meet demand. In the longer term, there is a great opportunity for U.S. LNG producers to grow their exports. The security of U.S. LNG exports will become an important factor for countries that need to import LNG to keep the lights on.
Below, I’m highlighting the two largest U.S. LNG producers. Their profits and stock price could benefit greatly from Qatar’s troubles.Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG) is one of the world’s largest LNG exporters. This graphic from a recent earnings presentation shows current capacity, the number of cargoes shipped in 2025, and the planned expansion:
For 2025, Cheniere generated EBITDA of $6.9 billion and distributable cash flow of $5.3 billion. With its $59 billion market cap, LNG trades for just 11 times free cash flow.
Venture Global (VG) came to market with a January 2025 IPO and quickly established itself as one of the largest LNG producers and exporters. From 2024 to 2025, revenue, EBITDA, and income from operations grew almost 200%.
Venture Global’s growth plans call for production to grow from 65 million tons per year in 2025 to 105 million tons per year.
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