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The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) train under QatarEnergy’s North Field East expansion project is expected to begin production in the first quarter of 2027, following its planned startup in November, according to Reuters.
The additional capacity comes as Qatar works to recover from damage to its gas infrastructure , with attacks reducing the country’s LNG capacity by 17%.
Qatar also appears to be preparing to increase LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, with a fleet of empty tankers owned or chartered by QatarEnergy waiting in waters near the country, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of satellite imagery and ship-tracking data.
At least 12 ballast carriers were identified, with a combined capacity of around 1.1 million tonnes of LNG. This is equivalent to roughly 2% of the global LNG tanker fleet’s carrying capacity.
Research from Wood Mackenzie estimates that the March attack by Iran on Qatar’s Pearl gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility and an explosion at the Barzan facility in June removed around 4.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas-processing capacity.
The damage affected two LNG trains with a combined capacity of 12.7 million tonnes per annum, one GTL train and Barzan’s domestic lean-gas processing operations.
Repairs are expected to and were initially estimated to take between four and 12 months, according to the analyst firm.
However, more recent reports indicate that repairs could take three years to complete, while one GTL plant is expected to complete repairs in the first quarter of 2027.
Qatar would be able to resume normal gas operations within weeks of the Strait of Hormuz reopening, QatarEnergy Chief Executive Saad al-Kaabi said last month.
Al-Kaabi also revealed that Qatar was producing very little LNG, prompting QatarEnergy to for multi-year supply contracts extending to 2031.
According to industry and trading insiders, the company is in talks with firms including Woodside, Cheniere and Venture Global as it seeks to offset production losses.
