This would be the one of the largest corporate deals this year.
Qatar Petroleum plans to issue around $10 billion of bonds during this quarter to fund the Gulf state’s ambitious North Field expansion, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing a person with knowledge.
According to the report, the state-owned petroleum company is aiming to issue 5, 10 and 30-year bond notes at an amount ranging from $7 billion to $10 billion. The report added this would also be Qatar Petroleum’s first dollar bonds.
A Reuters report also said Qatar Petroleum sent banks a request for the debt sale during the “last few weeks”, citing another source.
Qatar Petroleum has yet to issue a statement on the matter.
Last year, Doha issued a $10 billion bond in a move that attracted nearly $45 billion worth of orders, Bloomberg reported.
North Field project
The sale is expected to aid Qatar on its journey to becoming the world’s largest Liquified Natural Gas [LNG] producer by 2030 through its $28.7 worth North Field Expansion project.
The project is set to raise Qatar’s liquefaction capacity to 110 million tonnes per year out of the global total of 600 million tonnes per year, 18% of the world’s annual supply.
Read also: Qatar on track to become world’s largest LNG producer: report
Global LNG demand will reach about 580 million tonnes by 2030, leaving significant room for bringing new LNG projects forward.
“We forecast that 104 million tpa of new LNG supply must be sanctioned in the coming five years to meet the gap between actual supply and demand in 2030,” said Sindre Knutsson, vice president at Rystad Energy’s gas markets team earlier in February.
The project will likely trigger a rise in oil prices and energy projects worth about $100 billion in 2021, of which the Middle East is set to contribute almost 40%.
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