QatarEnergy selected TotalEnergies as its first international partner for the highly anticipated 16mn t/y North Field South (NFS) expansion project on 24 September. The French firm is taking 9.375% out of the 25% interest available to international firms - the remaining 75% will be retained by QatarEnergy. The award is a welcome statement of intent as Qatar works to expand its LNG capacity from 77mn t/y now to 126mn t/y by around 2027.

The French firm’s stake equates to a net NFS share of 1.5mn t/y. Its 6.25% stake in the larger 32mn t/y North Field East (NFE) project will net it 2mn t/y, bringing the total to 3.5mn t/y. This significantly expands TotalEnergies’ presence in Qatar’s LNG sector. Having seen its 10% stake in the 9.9mn t/y Qatargas1 expire on 31 December, the firm’s sole producing stake is its 16.7% position in the 7.8mn t/y Qatargas2 Train 5 (net 1.3mn t/y). (CONTINUED - 1000 WORDS)