Qatar plans to start exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its first domestic expansion project by the middle of next year.
The indication comes amidst the market closely watching the timeframe for the beginning of the operations.
QatarEnergy will start supplies from North Field East by mid-2026, Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi told Bloomberg News at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Tuesday.
The startup of the project – which will boost Qatar’s annual LNG output capacity to 110 million tons from 77 million tons now – is in focus amid elevated demand and delays at a number of projects globally.
The market is closely watching the exact timing of new LNG projects, especially as Europe is still adjusting to life without Russian pipeline gas and consumption in some Asian countries is rising.
Pinpointing the exact quarter or month of a startup like North Field East can impact how much supply will be available for the peak winter season, or for stockpiling and cooling needs in the summer.
State-owned QatarEnergy’s website states that the project will start by 2026.
The company in 2022 said operations should start early next year, and in June last year, there were expectations for a 2026 start, without a specific date.
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