(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Joel Johnson |The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Qatar's LNG production capacity expansions are being driven by a stronger global LNG demand growth outlook, stated Fitch Solutions in its latest report.
Recently, QatarEnergy announced the addition of the greenfield North Field West (NFW) LNG project, which is estimated to have a 16 mtpa LNG production capacity, which comes as an addition to the North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) projects that are currently underway.
The three greenfield projects, with a combined LNG production capacity, are expected to augment Qatar's LNG production capacity by 85 percent from 77 million tonnes per annum to 142 mtpa by 2030.
The report said:“Qatar's announcement of the NFW project came after the Biden administration's decision to pause approvals for pending and future applications to export LNG from new projects in the US, as well as the US's opposition to the startup of Russia's Arctic LNG Phase 2 project.”
It further noted that“Regardless of US policies to curb LNG exports, the rosy outlook for global LNG demand growth is a key driver behind Qatar's LNG production capacity expansions and its ambition to expand its footprint in the global LNG market.”
On the other hand, the analysts also remarked that Europe's struggle to reduce dependence on Russian gas offers vital opportunities for Qatar to expand its LNG production capacities.
Europe is emerging as a new frontier in the LNG industry as a rising number of countries aim towards LNG as a replacement for Russian gas. Numerous new LNG import terminals are being planned or built to accommodate the growth in LNG demand.
Qatar is seeking to expand its footprint in Europe's LNG market, although the continent is currently dominated by the US. Even though the US joined the global LNG market as recently as 2014, it has overtaken Qatar and Australia to become the largest LNG exporter in 2023, with total exports rising to a record high of 90 mtpa in 2023.
Meanwhile, the European countries depend on stable supplies of LNG from the US. However, US policy to pause LNG exports could offer an opportunity for Qatar to expand its market share in the European LNG market, the data noted.
Although the US leads in terms of LNG exports to Europe, Qatar has secured a number of long-term supply agreements with European customers in recent years.
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