Doha: QatarEnergy announced that it has selected TotalEnergies as its first international partner in the North Field East (NFE) expansion project, the single largest property in the history of the LNG industry.
It will announce more partners in the coming days for the expansion of the gas field, the company's chief executive said at a signing ceremony with TotalEnergies.
The Gulf state is partnering with international energy companies in the first and largest phase of a nearly $30 billion expansion of the project.
H E Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said subsequent signings could be announced in the near future, possibly at the end of next week. The top oil and gas producers have been eager to secure a stake in one of the world's most lucrative energy projects, but Qatar's strategy has been to raise the bar on what it expects of those potential partners in return for an offtake from the North Field.
The North Field expansion plan includes six LNG trains that will ramp up Qatar’s liquefaction capacity from 77 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 126 mtpa by 2027. Oil Majors bid for four trains of the North Field East expansion. The other two trains will be part of a second phase, the North Field South.
