Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy H E Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi
Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s North Field expansion is progressing well, with the first train of the North Field East (NFE) project expected to come online in the first half of 2027, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy H E Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said.
Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum powered by Bloomberg: UNGA Special Edition 2026 held in New York yesterday, in a session titled ‘Geopolitics and Energy Security in Global Markets,’ Minister Al-Kaabi said “North Field East is going very well. We expect the first train to come online in the first half of next year, and then possibly a few more trains from NFE to come next year. North Field South (NFS) is also going well.”
The critical part is some of the equipment that will not be able to enter due to crisis over the Strait of Hormuz, if this continues, could delay some of these projects, he added.
Speaking regarding the status of Golden Pass LNG project in the United States, he said, “We have started shipments from the first train. We expect next year to have both second and third train in full operation. We are happy with that project and we are proceeding.”
QatarEnergy also continues to expand its international exploration portfolio, Minister Al-Kaabi said.
“We are growing. We have had a strategy of growing outside Qatar around the world. We are one of the largest exploration block holder in the world. So we have exploration around the world. I mean, Namibia, Cyprus, Angola, I mean, really everywhere with Brazil, Argentina, anywhere there is exploration, you will find us.”
Minister Al-Kaabi said QatarEnergy’s other major US project, the Golden Triangle ethane cracker with Chevron Phillips, was entering the commissioning phase.
“The project actually, as we speak, is starting commissioning. It should be starting up in the next few weeks. It will be announced in due course. “We own 49% and 51% is owned by Chevron Philips. We have a similar project in Qatar that will start up next year. And for our expansion projects, we are expecting a few of our LNG trains of the new NFE to start up next year and the following year NFS trains.”
Minister Al-Kaabi said QatarEnergy’s long-term expansion strategy was designed to meet expected LNG demand beyond 2030, despite the possibility of increased supply in the global market in 2027 and 2028.
He also addressed the impact of the disruption on Qatar’s LNG production, saying the majority of production remained offline.
Asked about production levels at Ras Laffan he said, “It’s very difficult to put a number, because from an LNG perspective, it’s very minute what we’re producing. Of course, we’re producing gas and we’re self-sufficient in jet fuel, gasoline, diesel, and electricity that we need production for. Some petrochemicals facilities are producing and they have land access to export, but the majority of our production is not producing.”
“With the subtraction of the 17%, we can get back to normal operations within a couple of weeks [if the Strait of Hormuz reopens],” he added. Minister Al Kaabi further said QatarEnergy was rapidly expanding its LNG trading business and expected to become the world’s largest LNG trader. “I have announced in 2024 that we are building one of the largest trading organisation in LNG.
“We are going to be very large. I would like to mention today that we will be in the very near future the largest LNG trader in the world by far. And we are building our position to become the largest trader. And we don’t mention something that we don’t become if we’re not confident.”
He also confirmed that QatarEnergy was looking at opportunities to enter Venezuela with partners.
