The rumor turned out to be true. Qatar announced on Sunday June 12 that it had chosen the hydrocarbon giant TotalEnergies as the first partner for the expansion of the North Field, the largest liquefied natural gas production project in the world. Thanks to this project, the emirate will strengthen its position as world leader in the export of LNG.
The sums at stake are enormous. The project costs $30 billion and includes six natural gas liquefaction units extracted from the offshore North Field, the largest natural gas field in the world. It will enable Qatar to increase its LNG production capacity by more than 60% by 2027.
The French TotalEnergies will not be the only foreign investor in this project, other hydrocarbon giants are lining up to take part, such as the American Exxon Mobil and the Italian ENI. The Qatari Minister of Energy has indicated that the names of the other partners will be revealed soon.
Qatar, one of the three largest LNG exporters in the world, is considered a strategic supplier for European countries that want to reduce their dependence on Russian gas.
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, European hydrocarbon companies have multiplied agreements with producing countries, particularly in Africa. Saturday, the British giant Shell and Norwegian Equinor have signed a framework agreement with Tanzania on a $30 billion LNG mega-project.