Qatar choses TotalEnergies to develop giant gas field

• Qatar names TotalEnergies of France as its first foreign partner.
• Exxon Mobil, Shell and ConocoPhilips are expected to take 25 percent.
• Production will start in 2026 and expansion is “on target”.

Qatar named TotalEnergies of France as its first foreign partner to develop the world’s largest natural gas field, which will eventually help alleviate Europe’s energy concerns.

“We have completed the selection process and signed the agreements,” said Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, adding that more deals will be announced “in the near future.”

TotalEnergies’ chief Patrick Pouyanne told reporters that the French firm’s joint venture with state-owned QatarEnergy (QE) will own 6.25 percent of the North Field East Project.

Industry sources say that Exxon Mobil, Shell and ConocoPhilips are all in line to take part in the giant expansion, that Qatar had originally wanted to finance alone.

The oil and gas giants are expected to take a total stake of about 25 percent share in North Field.

Qatar estimates it will cost more than $28 billion to expand production by more than 60 percent by 2027. Kaabi said that production would start in 2026 and that the expansion was “on target”.

Qatar is already one of the world’s top liquefied natural gas producers, alongside the United States and Australia.

But following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, European nations have been queueing up in Doha seeking alternatives to Russian oil and gas.

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QE estimates that North Field has about 10 percent of the world’s known natural gas reserves.

The reserves extend under the sea into Iranian territory, where Tehran’s efforts to exploit its South Pars gas field have been hindered by international sanctions.

The Ukraine conflict has heightened the urgency of efforts around the world to develop new sources of energy.

Tanzania signed a framework agreement on Saturday with British and Norwegian energy conglomerates Shell and Equinor to implement a $30 billion natural gas export project.

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