QATAR has agreed to supply France’s TotalEnergies with natural gas for 27 years, its state energy company announced today.  

Qatar will supply 3.5 million tonnes of gas a year under the deal, QatarEnergy said, following two agreements with Total last year for a share of the Gulf state’s huge North Field gas expansion project.  

“These two new agreements we have signed with our partner TotalEnergies demonstrate our continued commitment to the European markets in general, and to the French market in particular, thus contributing to France’s energy security,” Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said.  

Total signed a US$1.5 billion (RM7.1 billion) deal with QatarEnergy in September last year giving it a 9.3% stake in Qatar’s North Field South project, the second phase of the field’s expansion.  

In June 2022, the French energy giant became the first partner in the first phase of the expansion, North Field East, investing more than US$2 billion for a 25% share.  

Deliveries of the gas to southern France are expected to begin in 2026.  

“Our commitment to ensure continued and reliable supplies of energy to Europe and the rest of the world is underpinned by our substantial and ongoing investments across the entire gas value chain,” al-Kaabi, who is also chief of QatarEnergy, added. – AFP, October 11, 2023.