A mega project to expand Qatar’s North Field gas production capacity will boost the Gulf country’s output by nearly 63 percent and allow it to regain the world’s LNG export crown, according to an official report.

Qatar, which controls the world’s third largest gas deposits after Russia and Iran, exported 79.9 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2023, the report by Kuwait-based Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) said.

The exports last year were below the record LNG sales of 80.1 million tonnes in 2022, when Qatar topped the world’s list of gas exporters, the report said on Monday.

“Qatar was the third largest LNG exporter in 2023 after the US and Australia…but after the completion of the North Field project in the next few years, Qatar will again become the world’s largest LNG exporter as annual production will surge from around 77 million tonnes to a record 126 million tonnes in 2027,” it said.

The report showed the decline in Qatar’s LNG sales in 2023 along with lower exports by other Arab countries depressed total Arab LNG exports by around 1.5 percent to 112.4 million tonnes in 2023 from nearly 114.3 million tonnes in 2022.

It showed only Algeria recorded an increase in LNG exports, which swelled to their highest level of 12.9 million tonnes in 2023 from around 10.2 million tonnes in 2022.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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