Qatar and TotalEnergies sign historic agreement for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG)
In a major announcement, Qatari gas giant QatarEnergy and French company TotalEnergies have signed two 27-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreements. This decision strengthens relations between the two countries and will contribute to France’s energy security.
Under the terms of the agreements, QatarEnergy will supply up to 3.5 million tonnes of LNG per year to France from 2026 for a period of 27 years. The gas will be extracted from the North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) projects, in which TotalEnergies is also involved.
The emirate of Qatar is one of the world’s leading LNG producers, alongside the United States and Australia. Usually, Asian countries, such as China, Japan and South Korea, are the main buyers of Qatari gas. However, recently, European countries have shown increasing interest in diversifying their gas supply sources, particularly since the geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine.
This agreement with France follows a previous agreement concluded by Qatar with Germany last November, which provided for LNG supplies for 15 years.
The signing of these agreements took place in Doha, the capital of Qatar, in the presence of TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné. Qatari Minister of Energy and CEO of QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, welcomed the collaboration, saying: “These agreements demonstrate our commitment to the European markets in general and the French market in particular, thereby contributing to energy security from France”.
This initiative demonstrates the growing importance of LNG in the global energy transition. LNG is a cleaner and easier to transport fuel compared to traditional natural gas. It plays an essential role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in the maritime transport sector seeking more sustainable solutions.
This collaboration between Qatar and TotalEnergies is an important step in the diversification of energy sources and strengthens Qatar’s position as a major LNG supplier in the international market.