QatarEnergy selects Shell as final partner in world’s largest LNG project

QatarEnergy has selected Shell plc as partner in the North Field East (NFE) expansion project, the single largest project in the history of the LNG industry.

The partnership agreement was signed on Tuesday in a ceremony at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha, the companies said in a statement. As per the terms of the deal, Shell will take a 6.25% stake in the North Field East expansion project, QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida Al Kaabi told a news conference.

The partnership follows similar agreements signed by QatarEnergy with TotalEnergies, Exxon, ConocoPhillips and Eni. Shell is the final oil major to partner with QatarEnergy in the first and largest phase of the nearly $30 billion expansion which will boost Qatar's position as the world's top LNG exporter.

According to the agreement, QatarEnergy and Shell will become partners in a new joint venture company (JV), in which QatarEnergy will hold a 75% interest while Shell will hold the remaining 25% interest. In turn, the JV will own 25% of the entire NFE project, which includes 4 mega LNG trains with a combined nameplate LNG capacity of 32 million tons per annum (MTPA).

“We are very pleased to have Shell join us as a partner in this mega project, to which we have committed ourselves. We have lived up to that commitment, as well as to our global reputation as a reliable and trustworthy energy provider,” Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said in a statement.

“Today’s announcement marks the successful conclusion of the selection of our international energy company partners in the North Field East project, through which QatarEnergy and its partners reaffirm their commitment to the energy transition and to the safe and reliable supply of cleaner energy to the world,” he added.

Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden said in a statement that he was honoured that the company had been selected by QatarEnergy as a partner in the NFE project.

“Through its pioneering integration with carbon capture and storage, this landmark project will help provide LNG the world urgently needs at a lower carbon footprint. This agreement deepens our strategic partnership with QatarEnergy which includes multiple international partnerships such as the world-class Pearl GTL asset,” he said.