By : Franyi Sarmiento, Ph.D., Inspenet, June 15, 2022
TotalEnergies became the first foreign company to win a stake in a multi-billion dollar project to boost Qatari gas exports.
[post_relacionado]The company will gain a 6.25% equity stake in the first phase of the plan, state producer Qatar Energy said on Sunday. Known as North Field East, it will cost nearly $29 billion and include the construction of four LNG liquefaction units, or trains. It will increase Qatar’s annual capacity to 110 million tons by 2026 from 77 million. The French firm will own 25% of a joint venture with Qatar Energy, and the company in turn will own 25% of North Field East.
Another partner will be announced later this week, Saad al Kaabi, Qatar’s energy minister and head of Qatar Energy, told reporters in Doha. Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips are also poised to win stakes, Bloomberg reported last week, while Shell Plc submitted a bid.
Those three companies and TotalEnergies have stakes in Qatar’s existing production facilities.
“Suddenly, because of the tragic events in Europe, everyone is rushing to get LNG,” TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said.
The roughly three-year negotiations were “a bit long, to be honest,” he said, without disclosing how much TotalEnergies will invest. The energy minister and his team were “defenders of Qatari interests in this process.”
Kaabi previously said Qatar Energy could seek investment to finance around 30% of the expansion. The country received offers for double the shares offered, it said on Sunday. No company will get a larger stake than TotalEnergies, he said.
Pouyanne said the deal would strengthen Europe’s energy security and help the continent’s long-term goal of using less coal and oil. While the gas emits carbon when burned and methane leaks are common in industry, it is a cleaner fossil fuel.
“This is good news for the fight against climate change, since gas and LNG are key to supporting the energy transition,” explained Pouyanne.
This material from the Petrobanca portal was edited for clarity, style and length.