French Total joins Qatar as first foreign partner in $30 billion LNG project

Qatar appealed to the French oil giant TotalEnergies SE as the first foreign partner in a $30 billion liquefied natural gas project, as the Persian Gulf emirate pledges to help Europe secure new gas supplies while weaning itself off energy Russian.

The partnership gives TotalEnergies a stake of around 6% in the initial phase of the project, called North Field East. The offshore field, which Qatar began developing in 2019, is expected to increase the country’s LNG production by more than 60% by 2027. Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanne said on Sunday that the company’s participation in a new joint venture with state-owned QatarEnergy will help boost Europe’s energy security.