DOHA, Qatar: QatarEnergy is securing long-term LNG supplies from the United States and other producers as part of a strategy aimed at protecting its revenue against future disruptions to exports through the Strait of Hormuz.

CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi told Reuters the state energy giant plans to use its trading operation and fleet of about 200 LNG tankers to generate revenue from overseas supplies if another disruption prevents Qatar from shipping its own gas.

"In a scenario where you have a closure of the strait, which is the true contingency that we're looking to have, you'd immediately see a spike in gas price and you'll be able to generate revenue for QatarEnergy that otherwise wouldn't be generated," said Kaabi, who is also Qatar's minister of state for energy affairs.

The strategy shows for the first time how Qatar, one of the world's largest LNG producers, plans to offset lost income from the Iran war and protect its revenue against future disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

QatarEnergy on Thursday signed a 20-year agreement to buy 3 million metric tons per year of LNG from Woodside's U.S. facilities. Last week, it signed two agreements with Cheniere Energy for up to 4 million tons per year through 2054 from its Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi plants.

Together, the agreements amount to 7 million tons per year of LNG secured in the past two weeks.

"There's more to come," Kaabi said. Deliveries from Cheniere are not expected to begin until 2031.

Kaabi said the strategy was his idea and took shape about three months ago after QatarEnergy studied and rejected pipelines as an alternative.

"As we have seen, pipelines and pump stations or compression stations can be also targets."

The approach relies on QatarEnergy's LNG expertise, trading operation and shipping fleet and requires no capital spending, making it far cheaper than building pipelines or additional LNG trains, Kaabi said.

QatarEnergy halted LNG production in early March after several days of Iranian missile attacks on Qatar and declared force majeure to affected buyers on March 4.

Qatar accounts for around a fifth of global LNG exports, all of which pass through Hormuz. QatarEnergy has extended force majeure until the end of 2026.

Kaabi said the inability to ship LNG had taken a heavy toll on revenue. The company believes it can use its tanker fleet and QatarEnergy Trading to profit from the gap between lower U.S. gas prices and higher European prices.

"You can imagine the arbitrage you can make, and that would make up some of the loss."

Kaabi said QatarEnergy expects to sign more 20- to 25-year supply agreements with U.S. and other producers this year. Its target is "much higher" than 7 million tons per year, although he declined to give a figure.

Iranian missile strikes on QatarEnergy's main Ras Laffan gas processing facility in March damaged two of its 14 LNG trains, affecting combined capacity of 12.8 million tons per year and knocking out about 17% of Qatar's export capacity. QatarEnergy said in March the damage would cost about $20 billion a year in lost revenue.

Kaabi said repairs to the two trains would take about three years. The Pearl gas-to-liquids plant, a QatarEnergy-Shell joint venture that was also damaged, should return to service by the first quarter of 2027.

Qatar could restart full LNG production within a week of a peace deal if ships were available, Kaabi said, although output would remain at about 83% of pre-war levels until the damaged trains return.

QatarEnergy's plans to expand LNG output to 142 million tons per year remain unchanged, with all contracts awarded, Kaabi said.