QatarEnergy has selected France’s TotalEnergies as its first international partner in the North Field East (NFE) liquefied natural gas (LNG) expansion project.

Indrajit Sen, oil and gas editor at GlobalData company MEED, said securing a reliable international investor such as TotalEnergies could not have come at a more opportune time for Qatar, as the Gulf state works to cement its position as a reliable partner for gas supply to Europe amid the current energy crisis.

Sen continued: “QatarEnergy has set itself a target of expanding its LNG capacity by over 60 per cent, from 77.5 million tonnes a year to 126 million by 2027.

“This will be undertaken in two phases through the North Field East and North Field South projects.

“The state enterprise has also allocated significant capital expenditure towards sustaining gas production from the giant North Field offshore gas reserve, to support incremental LNG production in the long-term.

“Alongside, QatarEnergy is also making progress with a major $19 billion shipbuilding programme to augment its LNG transport capabilities.

“Investments from major international energy companies in its ambitious LNG production capacity projects helps Qatar de-risk its investments in the masterplan, as well as bring in international expertise vital for long-term operational efficiency of the sprawling LNG infrastructure.”