EXCLUSIVE Energy majors bid for #Qatar LNG project despite lower returns | Reuters

EXCLUSIVE Energy majors bid for Qatar LNG project despite lower returns | Reuters

Six top western energy firms are vying to partner in the vast expansion of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas output, industry sources said, helping the Gulf state cement its position as the leading LNG producer while several large projects around the world recently stalled.

Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips, which are part of Qatar's existing LNG production were joined by new entrants Chevron and Italy's Eni in submitting bids on May 24 for the expansion project, industry sources told Reuters.

The bids show energy giants continue to have appetite for investing in competitive oil and gas projects despite growing government, investor and activist pressure on the sector to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.

Unlike Qatar's early LNG projects in the 1990s and 2000s when the country relied heavily on international oil companies' technical expertise and deep pockets, the country's national oil company Qatar Petroleum (QP) has gone ahead alone with the development of the nearly $30 billion North Field expansion project.