Eni has been selected by QatarEnergy as the new international partner for the expansion of the North Field East (NFE) project.
The Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, and the CEO of Eni, Claudio Descalzi, signed today, during an official ceremony, the partnership agreement for the creation of the new Joint Venture (JV). QatarEnergy will hold a 75% stake and Eni the remaining 25%. The JV in turn will own 12,5% of the entire NFE project, which includes 4 mega LNG trains with a combined liquefaction capacity of 32 million tons / year (MTPA).
The NFE project will make it possible to increase Qatar's LNG export capacity from the current 77 MTPA to 110 MTPA. With an investment of $ 28,75 billion, NFE is expected to go into production by the end of 2025 and will employ state-of-the-art technologies and processes to minimize the overall carbon footprint, including CO2 capture and storage.
The agreement marks the completion of a competitive process that began in 2019 and has a duration of 27 years. This is a strategic move for Eni, which strengthens its presence in the Middle East by gaining access to a leading global LNG producer with some of the largest natural gas reserves in the world. This collaboration also represents a significant milestone in the company's diversification strategy, which expands its portfolio of cleaner and more reliable energy sources.
In his speech during the ceremony, Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, said: “We are honored and delighted to have been chosen as a partner in the North Field East expansion project. As newcomers to this globally relevant LNG project, we feel the privilege and responsibility of being a strategic partner of choice for the State of Qatar. This agreement is a significant milestone for Eni and is part of our diversification goal towards cleaner and more reliable energy sources, in line with our decarbonisation strategy. Eni is ready to work with QatarEnergy on this project to positively contribute to increasing the security of gas supply worldwide. "