Qatar expects its massive LNG expansion to begin producing in the first half of 2027, but has decided against building pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The first production train at North Field East (NFE), the initial phase of Qatar’s LNG expansion, is expected to come online in the first half of 2027, Energy Minister and QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said at the Qatar Economic Forum in New York on Sunday, according to a Bloomberg report.
But Al-Kaabi warned that prolonged disruption in the Strait could delay additional trains because critical equipment needed for the projects is unable to reach Qatar. The North Field South (NFS) expansion, the second phase, is scheduled to begin production in 2028.
Qatar had previously expected the first NFE production to start in 2026, but the timetable was pushed into 2027.
“It will depend a lot on the Hormuz Strait for the additional trains that are going to come, because that could push it back if we can’t get facilities coming in,” Al-Kaabi said.
The comments highlight the vulnerability of Qatar’s LNG expansion to the continuing disruption in Hormuz, through which the country currently has no alternative export route.
Al-Kaabi also said Qatar had decided not to build new pipelines to bypass the strategic waterway, rejecting the idea that Hormuz could become obsolete as other Gulf producers develop alternative export routes.
“We have decided not to do pipelines,” he said, adding that the decision was based on commercial and technical considerations and that Qatar would continue using the strait. He also rejected US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent assessment that Hormuz could become largely irrelevant within two years.
Qatar’s LNG expansion was part of a record wave of new supply set to flood the market through the rest of the decade.
Qatar’s Ras Laffan plant — which produced nearly a fifth of the world’s LNG before the war began in February — can resume operations at undamaged parts of the facility “within a couple of weeks” when Hormuz reopens, the minister said.
An attack on Ras Laffan in the early days of the war — which began when the US and Israel attacked Iran — damaged about 17% of the plant, which will take years to repair.
Qatar is currently exporting a very small amount of LNG through the strait, Al-Kaabi said.
The country is pivoting to become a larger trader of LNG in the meantime, and is handling more LNG outside of the Gulf with the start of its Golden Pass export facility in the US.
“We will be, in the very near future, the largest LNG trader in the world by far,” said Al-Kaabi. “And we’re building our position to become the largest trader.”
Shell's Pearl GTL facility in Qatar, which was also damaged in the March attacks, will resume production in the first quarter of next year, he said.
7% economic contraction
In another Bloomberg report Qatar Central Bank Governor and Qatar Investment Authority Chairman Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani said the damage to the country’s LNG facilities could take two to three years to repair, with the conflict contributing to a 7% economic contraction even as the non-hydrocarbon economy grows.
He says Qatar’s strong fiscal position has allowed QIA to continue investing globally, with technology and AI among its major areas of focus, while the central bank is deploying AI across its own operations.
The government of the State of Qatar is the underwriter of the Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg.
