Qatari expansion: Build it and they will come?
The major brake on the Gulf’s state’s ambitions may not be resource, but rather customer appetite
Qatar lifted its 12-year moratorium on further development of the vast offshore North Field in April 2017 and, three years later, is steamrolling forward with the largest LNG expansion the industry has ever seen. If it so desired, Qatar could fund and construct almost unending expansions to what is already a 77mn t/yr, 14-train liquefaction operation. Qatar Petroleum (QP) has emphasised the vast scalability by continuing to broaden its growth plans. The 2017 North Field East expansion (NFE), initially targeting 100mn t/yr export capacity, was upped again to 110mn t/yr in 2018. Then, as if the NFE was not enough, the North Field South (NFS) expansion aims to take capacity to 126mn t/yr. While
Also in this section
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
3 March 2026
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in US–Israeli strikes marks the most serious escalation in the region in decades and a bigger potential threat to the oil market than the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis
2 March 2026
A potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the escalating US-Iran conflict risks disrupting Qatari LNG exports that underpin global gas markets, exposing Asia and other markets to sharp price spikes, cargo shortages and renewed reliance on dirtier fuels
