Shell wins stake in Qatar's LNG expansion for 'much needed' supplies

Shell will participate in Qatar's under-construction 32 million mt/year LNG expansion at the giant North Field in the Persian Gulf, becoming the fifth partner in the first phase of a 48 million mt/year project as buyers look to replace fuels from Russia.

Shell will hold a 25% share in a joint venture company which will own 25% of the North Field East expansion project, QatarEnergy and Shell said in separate statements July 5. That equates to a 6.25% equity stake in the expansion by QatarEnergy, equal to shares won by TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil.

The Shell stake concludes the international energy partner selection for the expansion, QatarEnergy said. Italy's Eni and ConocoPhillips also previously won stakes in the $28.75 billion expansion.

Shell said its investment will support delivery of "much-needed supplies" of natural gas to markets around the world. The project will also be integrated with carbon capture and sequestration to reduce emissions.

"Through its pioneering integration with carbon capture and storage, this landmark project will help provide LNG the world urgently needs with a lower carbon footprint," Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement.

"Lower carbon natural gas is a key pillar of our powering progress strategy and will also help us achieve our target of becoming a net-zero emissions business by 2050."

Equity stakes now awarded represent a collective 25% in North Field East, which will increase Qatar's LNG production capacity to 110 million mt/year by 2026 from 77.4 million mt/year currently.

A smaller planned North Field South project is intended to boost capacity to 126 million mt/year by 2027. QatarEnergy retains the controlling share.