ExxonMobil named fourth partner in Qatar’s NFE

QatarEnergy (QE) on June 21 named ExxonMobil the fourth global partner in its $28.75bn North Field East (NFE) expansion project, adding the US major to a list that already includes French major TotalEnergies, Italy’s Eni and ConocoPhillips.

In an agreement similar in structure to those signed with the other partners, ExxonMobil will take a 25% interest in a joint venture (JV) with QE that will develop four liquefaction trains at NFE, increasing LNG capacity to 110mn metric tons/year by 2026 from 77mn mt/yr today. ExxonMobil’s share of total Qatar LNG volumes will increase to 60mn mt/yr from 52mn mt/yr, the US major said.

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The JV structure implies a 6.25% interest in the NFE expansion, equal to TotalEnergies’s share, while Eni and ConocoPhillips will each hold about 3.12%.

“ExxonMobil has a long history of working in Qatar, responsibly producing energy, and we look forward to continuing our relationship for the benefit of all of our stakeholders,” ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said at a signing ceremony in Doha.

ExxonMobil has been active in Qatar since the mid-1950s, while in the early 1990s, Mobil Oil – which Exxon subsequently acquired in 1998 – had a hand in the discovery of North Field, the world’s largest gas reservoir which Qatar shares with Iran.

ExxonMobil’s ties with Qatar include shares in several LNG production units, tankers and export facilities, including Golden Pass LNG in Texas, which began life as an import terminal but which is now being developed as an export facility.

“Today, we are signing a partnership agreement with ExxonMobil, our strategic and long-term partner, with whom we have enjoyed successful and fruitful relations in Qatar and across the globe,” Qatari minister of state for energy affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said. “This is primarily due to the mutual trust and confidence between both parties, and to the State of Qatar’s safe and stable investment climate.”

A second phase of the North Field expansion, North Field South, will bring total Qatari LNG capacity to 126mn mt/yr by 2027.