ALBAWABA – Under a new deal signed between Qatar and the United Kingdom’s energy behemoth Shell, announced on Wednesday, state-owned QatarEnergy will supply Britain’s Shell with gas for the next 27 years.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Qatar will supply 3.5 million tonnes of gas a year to Shell, after having acquired a share of QatarEnergy’s huge North Field expansion project.
In July last year Shell agreed to a 6.25 percent share in the first phase of the expansion, AFP reported.
Just a few months later, in October, the company inked a deal with QatarEnergy for a 9.4 percent stake in the second phase of the expansion of what is to be the world's largest gas field.
QatarEnergy estimates the North Field holds about 10 percent of the world's known natural gas reserves.
Qatar is one of the top gas producers worldwide and now QatarEnergy will supply Britain’s Shell with gas for the next 27 years - Shutterstock
The deal with Shell is equal in length to an agreement with France's TotalEnergies announced earlier this month for a 27-year supply of natural gas.
Under its North Field expansion, Qatar is set to raise its output of liquified natural gas (LNG) by 60 percent or more, to 126 million tonnes a year by 2027.
Deliveries of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Rotterdam are expected to begin in 2026.
The main market for Qatari gas has traditionally been found in Asia, led by countries like China, Japan and South Korea.
Meanwhile, American giants ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil have also signed deals to partner in the expansion, as Qatar is one of the world's top LNG producers, alongside the United States, Australia and Russia.
