QatarEnergy CEO: LNG production from North Field expansion will start in the second half of 2026

QatarEnergy's CEO, who is one of the largest liquefied gas producers in the world, said on Monday that its massive North Field expansion will produce the first LNG by the second half 2026. In May, the state-owned firm announced that the first production of the field would start in mid-2026. According to CEO Saad Al-Kaabi, the project was originally scheduled for the end this year. Al-Kaabi said that any delays were due to COVID restrictions imposed earlier in the decade and not geopolitical tensions.

Kaabi, speaking in an interview at the ADIPEC annual energy conference, said: "I still see myself somewhere around mid-2026. I'm looking at the third or fourth quarter of 26 as the maximum."

"It's looking quite positive. I believe we will meet the deadline. It can be a little unpredictable with these large projects. But that's the general range we are looking at."

The North Field expansion is expected to increase QatarEnergy’s production by 85% when it reaches full capacity. This will be a significant boost from the current 77 million metric tonnes of LNG produced per year. Gas trains, or six industrial units which cool natural gas to liquid form before exporting by ship are part of the project. Kaabi stated that production will start when the first train becomes operational. QatarEnergy did not say when the full production will be achieved. Qatar claimed in June that Israel's strike on Iran’s portion of the joint gas field, located about 200 km (124miles) away from QatarEnergy’s installations, was reckless. (Reporting and writing by Maha El-Dahan; editing by David Goodman, Jan Harvey, and Andrew Mills)

(source: Reuters)