Shell invests in major expansion of Qatar 's LNG export

Shell has bought into a project that should enable Qatar to export far more liquefied natural gas (LNG) than it does now. The British oil and gas group announces that it has acquired a stake of almost 9.3 percent in North Field South, as the project is called.

Qatar is the largest LNG exporter in the world and there is now extra demand for it due to the war in Ukraine and the loss of gas supplies from Russia. The country owns the so-called North Field in the Persian Gulf, making it the world's largest proven gas reserves after Iran and Russia.

The project that Shell is now investing in should make it possible for the Gulf State to sell 16 million tons of LNG more annually from that gas field. This requires, among other things, drilling platforms and pipelines. In addition, new installations are being built that convert natural gas into liquid form. In the short term, this will not offer a solution to the gas shortage that has arisen since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Qatar will probably be able to export the first cargo of gas from this expansion in 2027 at the earliest.

Shell did not disclose how much money it paid for the shares in the project. TotalEnergies announced last month that it was investing $1.5 billion in an equally large stake in North Field South. Qatar 's state-owned company Qatar Energy remains the largest shareholder and makes up to a quarter of the project available to foreign investors.

Shell and TotalEnergies previously invested in North Field East, another expansion of LNG production in the Persian Gulf. Industry peers ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips from the United States and Eni from Italy did the same. Together, the two projects should ensure that Qatar will eventually be able to export 126 million tons of LNG per year, instead of the current 77 million tons.