When God Appears in Contracts, That’s ‘Force Majeure’

The new war in the Middle East has given fresh relevance to the legal term “force majeure.” It’s a clause that can be found buried in many contracts that lets a party off the hook in the event of some unforeseen “act of God.”

A number of oil and commodities companies have invoked the principle since the US and Israel began striking Iran, which responded with its own attacks on multiple countries. QatarEnergy, which operates the world’s largest liquefied natural gas export facility, declared force majeure so that it wouldn’t face penalties for missing contracted deliveries due to events beyond its control. Similarly, Aluminium Bahrain BSC in early March suspended deliveries of metal to some customers under force majeure clauses, citing the risks of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway south of Iran that connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.