Shell joins NFE expansion project as QatarEnergy wraps up partner selection

Tribune News NetworkDohaQatarEnergy announced the selection of Shell plc as partner in the North Field East (NFE) expansion project, the single largest project in the history of the LNG industry.The partnership agreement was signed on Tuesday in a ceremony at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha, by Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy HE Saad Sherida Al Kaabi and Shell CEO Ben van Beurden, in the presence of senior executives of both the companies.Pursuant to the agreement, QatarEnergy and Shell will become partners in a new joint venture company (JV), in which QatarEnergy will hold a 75 percent interest while Shell will hold the remaining 25 percent interest. In turn, the JV will own 25 percent of the entire NFE project, which includes four mega LNG trains with a combined nameplate LNG capacity of 32 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).Kaabi said: "We are very pleased to have Shell join us as a partner in this mega project, to which we have committed ourselves. We have lived up to that commitment, as well as to our global reputation as a reliable and trustworthy energy provider. Today’s announcement marks the successful conclusion of the selection of our international energy company partners in the North Field East project, through which QatarEnergy and its partners reaffirm their commitment to the energy transition and to the safe and reliable supply of cleaner energy to the world."We value our long and fruitful relations and strategic partnership with Shell, not just within the State of Qatar, but in many other locations around the world. And, as one of the largest players in the LNG business, they have a lot to bring to help meet global energy demand and security.”The minister thanked the working teams from QatarEnergy and Shell, as well as the management and working teams of Qatargas"We are always indebted to the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and to His continued guidance and support of the energy sector.”On his part, Ben van Beurden said, "I am honoured that Shell has been selected by QatarEnergy as a partner in the NFE project. Through its pioneering integration with carbon capture and storage, this landmark project will help provide LNG the world urgently needs at a lower carbon footprint. This agreement deepens our strategic partnership with QatarEnergy which includes multiple international partnerships such as the world-class Pearl GTL asset.”"We are committed to maximize the value of the LNG expansion for the State of Qatar and continue to be a trusted, reliable and long-term partner in Qatar’s continued progress,” Beurden concluded.This agreement is the fifth and last in a series of partnership announcements in the $28.75 billion NFE project, which will raise Qatar’s LNG export capacity from the current 77 MTPA to 110 MTPA.