Previously, QatarGas was jointly owned by Qatari and non-Qatari entities

Qatar Petroleum will become the sole owner of QatarGas from next year, the state-owned corporation confirmed.

QatarGas was previously jointly owned by QP, Total, ExxonMobil, Marubeni and Mitsui, under Qatargas Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited joint venture, or QG1 – the pioneering LNG projects to be developed in Qatar.

“The takeover by Qatar Petroleum will conclude more than 25 years of successful operations of QG1, from which the first ever Qatari LNG cargo was exported,” QP President and CEO and Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Al-Kaabi said. 

“This is a momentous event that highlights Qatar Petroleum’s efforts to further enhance the utilisation of our natural resources for the benefit of our country and its current and future generations as well as to continue serving the world’s need for cleaner energy,” Al-Kaabi added.

The move comes as Qatar Petroleum gears up to expand its gas production capacity with a $28.75bn North Field East Project (NFE).

The NFE, the world’s largest LNG project, will raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 million metric tons per year to 110 million metric tons per year by 2025. In addition to gas, the project will also produce ethane, sulphur, and helium. 

This represents the first phase of LNG expansion in Qatar, which is expected to put the Gulf state on track to return as the world’s largest LNG producer by 2030.

The second phase, referred to as the North Field South Project (NFS), will further increase the Gulf states’ LNG production capacity from 110 million metric tonnes per year [mmtpy] to 126 mmtpy.