"Qatar Energy" Choose a company "paralyze" Second partner in expansion project "North South Field"

Qatar Energy has added Shell to its list of partners in the North-South expansion project, becoming the second company after Total Energy in a partnership agreement signed by both parties on Sunday.

The project includes two giant LNG production lines with a total capacity of 16 million tons per year, which will increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity to 126 million tons per year in 2027.

Under the agreement, Shell will own 9.375 percent of the total 25 percent stake in the international partnership, while Qatar Energy will own the remaining 75 percent of the project.

Notably, the Northern Field Expansion Project, which consists of an eastern and a southern section, is the largest project in the history of the LNG industry, with production to begin in 2026, increasing global LNG supplies by 48 million tons per year by 2027.

In July 2022, Shell was selected as the fifth and final partner, along with Total Energy, ExxonMobil, ConcoPhillips and Eni, in the North East Field, a project to develop an underwater gas field on Iranian soil where Tehran’s attempts to develop it are facing international sanctions.

Qatar is one of the largest producers of liquefied natural gas in the world and aims to increase its production by more than 50% by 2027, when the North-South field comes online.

The main buyers of Qatari gas are South Korea, Japan and China, as European countries have long refused to enter into long-term agreements with Qatar, as Doha wanted, but after the Russian military operation in Ukraine, LNG importers rushed in search of Alternatives to Russian gas.

Source: agencies