Qatar Petroleum not scaling down LNG expansion

Qatar Petroleum will postpone the start of production from its new gas facilities to 2025 due to a delay in the bidding process, but is not downsizing the world’s largest liquefied natural gas project despite concerns of a mounting glut, its chief executive told Reuters.

Saad al-Kaabi, who heads the energy portfolio of the world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplier, also said the company could seek to raise debt next year for its domestic North Field LNG expansion. The company is not scaling back a plan to build six new LNG production facilities, known as trains, needed for an ambitious domestic scale-up, though commercial bids from contractors and the start of output will be delayed.

"We are still going to expand externally. We have always focused on upstream assets and... we are still interested in going ahead abroad," Kaabi said in a video conference interview.

Kaabi said the company was looking at opportunities to reduce its operating costs and capital expenditure, but that would not impact the major projects it is working on.

"QP is in a very good position financially. We have reduced our debt tremendously over the past years. We can weather the storm very easily," he said.