Exports from Qatar’s LNG expansion project to begin mid-2026

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attends the 34th Arab League summit in Baghdad on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Hadi Mizban / POOL / AFP)

DOHA, Qatar — Qatar will begin exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its expanded production project at the world’s largest natural gas field in mid-2026, the country’s state-owned energy giant said Tuesday.

The increased production at the field, which extends under the Gulf into Iranian territory, is expected to bring Qatar’s total production capacity to 142 million tons per year by 2030.

“Our North Field East expansion project in Qatar will start production mid-2026,” Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi, who is also the chief executive of QatarEnergy, said.

This will be followed by further expansion at North Field South and North Field West, which is due to be completed by the end of the decade.

Qatar is one of the world’s top gas producers alongside the United States, Australia and Russia.

Main markets

Asian countries led by China, Japan and South Korea have been the main market for Qatari gas, but demand has also grown from European countries since Russia’s war on Ukraine threw supplies into doubt.

In recent years, Qatar has inked other long-term LNG deals with France’s Total, Shell, India’s Petronet and Italy’s Eni among others, many of them for 27 years in duration, an industry record when the first deal was made in 2022 with China’s Sinopec.

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Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Al-Kaabi said Qatar had a “great relationship with China.”

“We are the largest supplier to China, and they are our biggest buyer. They are discussing with us additional volumes, and so is India, as well many other countries,” he added.

When ground was broken on the North Field project in October 2023, Qatar Energy stated LNG from the expansion was expected to start coming on line in 2026.