Qatar's LNG resurgence
The country is expanding its liquefied natural gas export capacity
It was in April 2017 that Qatar Petroleum's chief executive, Saad al-Kaabi, made the announcement that many in the LNG industry had been awaiting for more than a decade. The moratorium on new projects utilising North Field gas, imposed in April 2005, was to be lifted. Only in recent weeks, however, has the full scale of Qatar's renewed LNG ambitions become apparent. The initial assumption that Qatar might just be implementing a long-awaited debottlenecking of its six mega-trains—to yield an extra 12m tonnes a year or so of production capacity—has long been swept away. It is now clear that Qatar is planning a second major LNG production complex, of up to 31m t/y, to supplement its existing na
Also in this section
6 February 2026
The long close relationship between key supplier Qatar and pivotal buyer Japan becomes even deeper following new landmark deal
6 February 2026
Partnerships across the LNG value chain have evolved over time, growing in both complexity and importance, according to panellists at LNG2026
6 February 2026
Nigeria's mega-refinery is still trying to solve many challenges, all while its owner talks up expansion
5 February 2026
While broadly supportive of EU efforts to tackle methane emissions, representatives of the gas industry warn it could deter supply contracting if timelines and compliance requirements are not made more pragmatic
