Hormuz strikes widen force majeure on Qatari LNG, testing Italy's energy bill

A second liquefied natural gas tanker was struck while leaving the Strait of Hormuz within a month, according to Euronews, as the Qatari producer extended force majeure on deliveries that Italian utilities rely on. The GasLog Shanghai was hit in the same area where the Al Rekayyat was attacked weeks earlier, the outlet reported on Monday.

Italian utility Edison said QatarEnergy had extended force majeure on a further three cargoes, bringing the total number of affected shipments to 24 through September, Euronews reported. The measure compounds a supply shock that had already pushed European gas prices higher and raised the cost of Italy's energy imports.

For Milan's trading desks and the industrial north, the extension is a direct hit to the region's advanced manufacturing base, which depends on stable energy prices to remain competitive against German and French rivals. Lombardy's factories and the city's financial sector watch the LNG supply chain closely, as any sustained disruption feeds through to the power prices that underwrite the region's export economy.