Qatar Energy (QE) has selected British oil and gas company Shell as its fifth partner on the 32 Mt/year North Field East (NFE) LNG project in Qatar. Shell has been awarded a 25% interest in a new joint venture alongside QE (75%). The joint venture will hold a 25% interest in the NFE project (6.25% stake). In June 2022, QE selected four other companies to join the project, including France’s TotalEnergies, Italy’s Eni, as well as the USA’s Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips.
Qatar is now partnering with international energy companies in the first phase of the US$30bn expansion of its North Field project. Launched by QatarEnergy in 2019, it is currently under construction and is set to increase Qatar's total LNG export capacity from 77 Mt/year to around 110 Mt/year by 2027. The upstream part of the project will develop the field with 8 platforms, 80 wells and gas pipelines connecting to the onshore plant. Qatar plans reach a total liquefaction capacity of 126 Mt/year in 2027 through the development of the 16 Mt/year North Field South LNG project.