Qatar Petroleum(QP)has decided not to renew the pioneering joint venture that developed the LNG giant's first gas export facility,pushing out the existing consortium just as it assesses potential partnerships for its mega-expansion.QP CEO Saad al-Kaabi said this week that it would not extend its Qatargas Liquefied Natural Gas Co.(QGl)agreements with Exxon Mobil and Total,as well as Japan's Marubeni and Mitsui,after a 25-year partnership that launched Qatar on the road to global LNG dominance.The move suggests renewal terms were too tough for the foreign partners to swallow.They could provide some clues about the extent to which al-Kaabi intends to turn the screws on the partners when more deals come up for renewal,and the impact that might have on the majors'money-spinning investments in Qatar's low-cost LNG.It also indicates al-Kaabi will be no pushover in negotiations over involvement in Qatar's massive LNG expansion(WGI Mar.10'21).Exxon and Total are among the six Western firms vying for a place,along with ConocoPhillips,Chevron,Royal Dutch Shell and Eni.
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