Gulf LNG producer QatarEnergy has prolonged its force majeure status on deliveries of LNG cargoes to Edison until November, the Italian energy firm announced on August 28.

QatarEnergy had been slated to deliver five LNG cargoes between the end of September and early November.

It marks another extension of force majeure for deliveries to one of QatarEnergy’s biggest customers. In late July, the state-run company announced it was extending force majeure on LNG supplies to Edison through the end of September, adding three cargoes to the volumes it is unable to deliver because of the continuing disruption to Qatari exports.

The total number of cargoes scheduled for delivery to the Adriatic LNG terminal that have now been affected since the beginning of April has now climbed to 29.

Amid the disruption to supply, Edison has been active on the spot market, replacing at least 17 of the affected cargoes, with the Italian company vowing to continue to assess the situation in the hopes that Iran could open up the Strait of Hormuz for shipping traffic.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates as additional information becomes ​available,” Edison said in a statement.

Edison owns a 25-year contract with QatarEnergy, which commenced in 2009. The deal sees QatarEnergy deliver to Edison 6.4 bn cubic metres of gas per year, equivalent to around 4.7mn tonnes of LNG. Qatari supply makes up over four-fifths of Edison’s long-term LNG import portfolio.

Amid a volatile LNG market, Italy became Europe’s biggest importer of the super-chilled fuel in July.

While other European countries such as France and Germany have chosen to let storage levels dip, Italy decided to hedge against further price rises, a move accelerated by the fact Italy’s power sector is the most dependent in Europe on gas.