Reuters: $10 Billion Cooperation Between Qatar and ExxonMobil in the U.S.

Three informed sources say Qatar Petroleum and the American company ExxonMobil are set to officially announce a $10 billion plan for the development of liquefied natural gas export facilities in Texas next week. Reuters reports in an exclusive article that ConocoPhillips, the third partner in these facilities, is expected to sell its approximately 12% stake and will not participate in this development plan. Demand for liquefied natural gas is on the rise, with consumption expected to more than double by 2030, reaching 550 million tons per year. Consequently, competition among oil and gas companies to dominate this market has intensified. The capacity of the Golden Pass natural gas terminal in Texas is about 5.6 billion liters (56 million cubic meters) per day, which is transferred to the U.S. However, as natural gas production in the U.S. has significantly increased due to rising shale production, demand for the export of this fuel has also grown. The $10 billion contract for the development of these facilities, first announced in 2014, will focus on this new market. This is part of Qatar Petroleum's plans for a $20 billion investment in the U.S. and aims to expand its presence in the global oil and gas industry. According to two informed sources, ExxonMobil is likely to purchase ConocoPhillips' stake. These sources indicated that since the project is at an advanced stage, current partners are reluctant to invite another partner to this plan. Currently, ExxonMobil holds a 17.4% stake and Qatar Petroleum holds 70% of this project. Reuters adds that ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum are expanding their cooperation in the natural gas sector globally, from the U.S. to Mozambique. One source stated that ExxonMobil is trying to expand its activities in Qatar and is therefore willing to offer concessions. In 2017, Qatar was the largest producer of liquefied natural gas in the world, with an annual production of about 77 million tons. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips declined to comment on this matter, and Qatar Petroleum has not yet responded. The Golden Pass gas export facility is one of a series of projects that may be finalized this year. International energy companies are expected to make decisions this year regarding a series of extraction and export projects with an annual production volume of over 60 million tons of natural gas. This figure is significantly higher than the previous record of about 45 million tons per year in 2005. According to energy research institutions, the volume of natural gas production last year was about 320 million tons. Qatar exited OPEC last year, and as a result, this country is not obliged to comply with the proposed regulations of the organization's members regarding investments in the U.S.