Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Saad Al-Kaabi, said on May 21 at the 29th World Gas Conference (WGC2025) that natural gas will remain a critical pillar for industries such as fuel and fertilizer production for the next century, playing a key role in supporting the global energy transition.
Source: Yicai Global
Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Saad Al-Kaabi, said on May 21 at the 29th World Gas Conference (WGC2025) that natural gas will remain a critical pillar for industries such as fuel and fertilizer production for the next century, playing a key role in supporting the global energy transition. “With the rollout of LNG projects like the North Field expansion, QatarEnergy is set to become the world’s largest LNG exporter within the next decade, while Qatar is on track to become the second-largest LNG exporting country globally,” Al-Kaabi said. “We aim to help more companies transition to cleaner energy.”
The expansion involves the world’s largest single gas field and is being carried out in two phases: North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS). The first phase, NFE, includes the construction of four LNG trains, each with a capacity of 8 million tonnes per year. Once operational, this will boost QatarEnergy’s annual LNG production capacity to 110 million tonnes.
The second phase, NFS, will add two more LNG trains of the same capacity. Once fully online in 2027, total LNG output is expected to reach 126 million tonnes per year. Al-Kaabi confirmed that the North Field East project is scheduled to begin production in mid-2026.
Chinese energy giants have been increasingly involved in the project. Since April 2023, QatarEnergy has transferred a 5% stake in one of the NFE trains to China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec). China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) also acquired a 1.25% stake.
Both companies have signed landmark 27-year LNG supply agreements with QatarEnergy—each covering annual deliveries of 4 million tonnes. These are the longest LNG contracts ever signed in the industry. In addition, Sinopec has inked two more long-term deals: one for 3 million tonnes per year over 27 years, and another for 2 million tonnes per year over a 10-year term.
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