Qatar sees North Field expansion LNG sales 'going very well'; possible to sell all by end-2023: Kaabi

Qatar sees its LNG sales from the North Field expansion "going very well," and "there is a possibility" of selling all of the LNG from the massive project by the end of 2023, Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad al-Kaabi told S&P Global Commodity Insights Sept. 25.

When asked to comment on the status of LNG sales from the North Field expansion, Kaabi said: "It's going very well." Kaabi, who is also president and CEO of QatarEnergy, spoke with S&P Global on the sidelines of the Tokyo GX Week 2023.

"There is a possibility," Kaabi said when asked about whether Qatar will be able to sell all of the North Field expansion LNG by the end of 2023.

"It takes two sides to agree, right? We are working with a lot of people," he added, declining to elaborate on specific commercial negotiations.

S&P Global reported July 3 that a couple of Japanese companies were in negotiations with Qatar for LNG supply contracts as well as participation in Qatar's North Field expansion project.

Kaabi said in May that Qatar expected to lock in all long-term LNG contracts from the two phases of the North Field expansion by the end of this year.

QatarEnergy LNG, formerly known as Qatargas, is at the center of the country's LNG expansion plans, with 14 LNG production trains currently operating, QatarEnergy said in a Sept. 14 statement. Qatar is raising its LNG production capacity from 77 million mt/year currently to 126 million mt/year by 2027 with an additional six LNG trains.

According to S&P Global estimates, global LNG demand is forecast to climb 45% by December 2030, from December 2023.

Asia's LNG prices rose Sept. 22 on the back of some buying interest ahead of the winter season amid supply uncertainties.

Platts, part of S&P Global, assessed November JKM at $14.817/MMBtu, while the JKM November derivative was assessed at $14.68/MMBtu Sept. 22.