QatarEnergy is pushing the start of its multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas expansion project to as late as the end of the year, a move that’s likely to keep global markets tighter for longer.
The company recently told stakeholders and buyers that production from the North Field East facility will begin only in the fourth quarter, a slight delay from earlier plans for the third quarter, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the timelines are not public. The project could even slip into 2027, one of the people said.
QatarEnergy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Qatar’s project is part of a record wave of new supply set to flood the market through the rest of the decade. However, project delays around the world — coupled with Europe’s move to replace Russian gas with LNG — keep pushing back the emergence of a glut.
ConocoPhillips, a stakeholder in the project, said last week that the expansion is set to start in the second half of this year. North Field East is the first phase of Qatar’s massive expansion, which will almost double its export capacity to 142 million tons by 2030.
The reason for the delay isn’t immediately clear, according to the people. However, it is normal for this type of massive development to be delayed by months as start-up nears, in order to iron out engineering issues. QatarEnergy’s Golden Pass export plant in the US was pushed back due in part to its lead contractor Zachry Holdings Inc. declaring bankruptcy.
LNG projects have been grappling with supply chain bottlenecks and cost inflation for years.
Meanwhile, Qatar still needs customers for its expansion, with much of its planned supply additions yet to be committed to long-term buyers. This takes some pressure off the Middle Eastern supplier to rush to expand exports.
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