QatarEnergy (QE) has officially picked Shell to take a 25% stake in a joint venture on the North Field East (NFE) project. This will have total capacity of 32 million tonnes per year.
Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said he was “honoured” that QE had chosen the company to participate.
“Through its pioneering integration with carbon capture and storage [CCS], this landmark project will help provide LNG the world urgently needs with a lower carbon footprint,” he continued.
“Lower carbon natural gas is a key pillar of our Powering Progress strategy and will also help us achieve our target of becoming a net-zero emissions business by 2050.”
QE has paid particular attention to its environmental credentials. It signed up to the Zero Methane Emissions Initiative last week and has made major CCS commitments.
Shell said the Qatari venture was the largest single project in the history of LNG.
Van Beurden went on to note Shell’s various works with QE, including the Pearl gas-to-liquids (GTL) project.
“We are committed to maximise the value of the LNG expansion for the State of Qatar and continue to be a trusted, reliable and long-term partner in Qatar’s continued progress.”
The $28.75 billion project is due to reach first production by the end of 2025. It aims to conclude the expansion by late 2027.
QE began its process to find partners on the NFE project in 2019.
Shell has now joined ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, ConocoPhillips and Eni at the NFE project. Each of these five holds a 25% stake in five joint ventures, with QE holding the outstanding 75%.
Updated at 1:03 pm to include ConocoPhillips in the NFE ventures list.