Qatar Petroleum reaches NFE FID, contracts Chiyoda, Technip

LNG giant Qatar Petroleum has taken the final investment decision for developing the North Field East Project (NFE).

The project will raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 million tons per annum (mtpa) to 110 mtpa.

In addition to LNG, the project will produce condensate, LPG, ethane, sulfur and helium, Qatar Petroleum said on Monday.

It is expected to start production in the fourth quarter of 2025 and its total production will reach about 1.4 million barrels oil equivalent per day.

Qatar Petroleum unveiled the decision during the EPC contract signing with Technip and Chiyoda. The pair was awarded the project’s key onshore, engineering, procurement and construction deal.

The main scope of the EPC contract is the construction of four mega LNG trains with a capacity of 8 mtpa each, with associated facilities for gas treatment, natural gas liquids recovery, as well as helium extraction and refining within Ras Laffan Industrial City.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum said: “The execution of this EPC contract marks the commencement of the construction of the North Field East LNG project, and is a significant landmark in Qatar Petroleum’s strategic growth journey in a sustainable manner.”

He added that the total cost of the NFE project will be $28.75 billion, making it one of the energy industry’s largest investments in the past few years, in addition to being the largest LNG capacity addition ever.

Al-Kaabi further noted that one of the most important environmental elements of the NFE project is its CO2 capture and sequestration (CCS) system that will be integrated with Qatar Petroleum’s wider CCS scheme in Ras Laffan.

In addition to the CCS scheme, the NFE project will have a number of elements that provide this project with a unique positive environmental proposition, such as:

• a significant portion of the project’s electrical power needs will be provided from Qatar’s national power grid, and Qatar Petroleum is in the process of procuring such power from the 800 megawatt solar power plant currently under construction in Al-Kharsaah, in addition to a further 800 megawatts of solar power which Qatar Petroleum will construct in the near future as part of its plans to have a solar power portfolio of more than 4,000 megawatts by 2030;
• a ‘jetty boil-off gas’ recovery system, which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by approximately a further 1 mtpa of CO2 equivalent;
• the project will conserve 10.7 million cubic meters of water per year by recovering 75 per cent of the plant’s tertiary water;
• ​NOx emissions will be reduced by 40 per cent through the application of enhanced Dry Low NOx technology.

The NFE project represents the first phase of LNG expansion in Qatar, while the second phase, referred to as the North Field South project (NFS), will further increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 110 mtpa to 126 mtpa.

With an expected production start date in 2027, the NFS project involves the construction of two additional mega LNG trains (with a capacity of 8 mtpa each) and associated offshore and onshore facilities.

The NFS project was initiated as a result of Qatar Petroleum’s successful onshore appraisal activities in the North Field and targets the monetization of gas from the southern sector of the North Field.

As these appraisal activities continue, Qatar Petroleum is evaluating further LNG capacity expansions beyond 126 mtpa.