Updated version 2 - Cheniere raises performance forecasts as the interruption of Middle Eastern natural gas supply boosts demand for US liquefied natural gas.

The report has been rewritten, with additional details and background information included throughout the text.

Reuters, October 29 - Cheniere Energy LNG.N raised its full-year profit forecast on Thursday, mainly due to increased exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) — as supply disruptions in the Middle East prompted buyers to turn to U.S. sources.

As the largest LNG exporter in the United States, the company’s shares rose 4% in premarket trading. It also raised its quarterly dividend by more than 12% to 62.5 cents per share.

Benefiting from a more favorable regulatory environment, cheap domestic shale gas, rising European demand to replace Russian pipeline supply, and flexible contracts that allow buyers to redirect U.S. supplies to higher margin markets, the U.S. has cemented its position as the world’s largest LNG exporter.

The situation in Iran has also disrupted gas supplies from Qatar, one of the world’s largest LNG exporters, and sparked market concerns over the security of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, prompting buyers to reassess their Gulf region risk exposure and seek U.S. LNG supplies instead.

Earlier this month, QatarEnergy agreed to purchase up to 4 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (link) annually from Cheniere Energy starting in the early 2030s through 2054, signaling that even major Gulf exporters are securing U.S. supplies to meet their customers’ needs.

In the third quarter, Cheniere shipped 188 cargoes of LNG, a year-on-year increase of 15.3%.

LNG revenue for the quarter grew by 41.8% to $6.1 billion.

Cheniere expects adjusted core profit in 2026 to be between $8.75 billion and $9.25 billion, up from a prior forecast of $7.90 billion to $8.40 billion.

For the quarter ended September 30, the company posted net profit of $1.17 billion, compared with $1.05 billion a year earlier.

The company said it completed the seventh (and final) production line at its Corpus Christi Stage 3 project in Texas in August, boosting its LNG capacity by more than 20%.

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