Why is Asia clearing the LNG queue before Europe as Hormuz reopens?
Timeline for Dahej
Mentioned in: Asia clears the LNG queue first
European Energy MarketsBackground
Dahej is India's largest Liquefied Natural Gas import terminal, located in The Gulf of Khambhat on the Gujarat coast. It is operated by Petronet LNG, India's largest LNG importer, and has a regasification capacity of approximately 17.5 million tonnes per annum. Dahej receives LNG tankers, regasifies the cargoes, and feeds natural gas into India's National Grid. The terminal opened in 2004 and has expanded in phases; it handles a large share of India's contracted volumes from Qatar, Australia, and the US Gulf Coast.
Dahej received the Disha, the first LNG carrier to transit the strait of Hormuz after the June 2026 US-Iran memorandum on mine-clearing, on 15 June 2026. The Disha's destination illustrated a structural pattern in the Hormuz reopening: Asian buyers, whose vessels were anchored closer to the strait, cleared the queue ahead of European importers. With the JKM-TTF arbitrage holding above the freight-adjusted diversion threshold (above approximately $2.50-3.00/MMBtu), Atlantic cargoes continued to route east rather than west, reinforcing Europe's supply gap even as the strait nominally reopened. The OIES June 2026 Comment cited this queue dynamic as one factor behind the 2.1 bcm per month net European LNG shortfall through October.
What is the Dahej LNG terminal in India?
Why did the first LNG cargo after the Hormuz reopening go to India not Europe?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 June 2026. Editorial standards.
