Qatar has picked Exxon Mobil Corp, TotalEnergies, Royal Dutch Shell, and ConocoPhillips as partners in the expansion of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, according to people with knowledge of the matter.Â
The Qatar project, which is one of the largest in natural gas history, comes as Europe tries to distance itself from Russian supplies in the aftermath of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, visited Qatar in recent months, together with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and other officials, in an attempt to extract guarantees from Qatar to provide greater gas to European countries.
The funds will be used to help Qatar finance a $30 billion plan to raise annual LNG production to over 130 million tons by 2027.
Qatar Power Company will construct four liquefaction units, or trains, each having an annual capacity of 8 million tons. The first gas flows are not expected until 2026, according to Qatar’s Emir.
The North Field expansion will boost Qatar’s LNG output by 64 percent by 2027, strengthening its position as the world’s top LNG exporter and helping to guarantee a long-term supply of gas to Europe.
