Qatar signs 27-year gas supply agreement with Shell

Qatar has signed two gas supply agreements with the British Shell over 27 years, the Gulf country’s state energy company announced on Wednesday. Qatar will supply 3.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year to the British company, which has been associated with a project to develop the gigantic Nord Field gas field in the Gulf, Qatar Energy said in a statement. “Nous sommes ravis de signer ces deux accords à long terme avec Shell, qui renforceront encore notre relation et notre partenariat stratégique au Qatar et dans le monde entier”, declared the minister of energy of Qatar, Saad Al-Kaabi, selon the text.

In October last year, Shell reached an agreement with QatarEnergy to acquire a 9.4% stake in Qatar’s North Field South project, the second phase of the field’s expansion. In July of the same year, Shell also acquired a 6.25% stake in the first phase of the expansion, North Field East. LNG deliveries to Rotterdam are expected to begin in 2026. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, European countries are looking to replace Russian gas deliveries.

A contract equivalent in duration signed with Totalenergies

The agreement signed with Shell has a duration equivalent to that signed with the French company Totalenergies, announced at the beginning of the month. As part of the expansion of Qatar’s North Field, the world’s largest natural gas field, which extends under the Gulf into Iranian territorial waters, Qatar is expected to increase its LNG production by 60% or more, up to reach 126 million tons per year in 2027. .

The main market for Qatari gas has traditionally been Asia, with countries such as China, Japan and South Korea. The agreement concluded with Shell and Total also has the same duration as those signed by the China National Petroleum Corporation in June and by the Chinese company Sinopec in 2022. The American giants ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil have also signed partnership agreements for the development of North Field . . Qatar is one of the world’s leading LNG producers, along with the United States, Australia and Russia. Qatar Energy estimates that the North Field contains approximately 10% of the world’s known natural gas reserves.