ConocoPhillips told the Flame conference in Amsterdam that its two joint ventures with QatarEnergy are pressing ahead, and that any war-linked slippage in Qatar’s massive LNG buildout will likely be measured in months — not years.
“North Field East, North Field South JVs are ongoing now, and whilst we might see some delays, they are more likely measured in months rather than years,” said Burgess, ConocoPhillips’ Europe Gas head, at the Amsterdam gas and LNG industry gathering, according to Reuters.
The remarks matter because the stakes are enormous. Qatar’s North Field East and North Field South projects are the engine of a plan to lift national LNG production capacity from 77 million metric tons per year to 126 MTPA — an expansion that would fundamentally reshape global gas supply balances if it runs close to schedule.
Both projects absorbed a serious blow when strikes hit onshore facilities at Ras Laffan Industrial City on March 19, several weeks into the Iran war. The site, home to QatarEnergy’s LNG complex, went dark in the two months that followed. Satellite intelligence firm Kayrros has since detected thermal signals at Ras Laffan consistent with early-stage recommissioning — the first concrete sign the facility is coming back to life.
Marco Saalfrank, head of merchant trading at Swiss energy group AXPO, offered a sharper number at the same conference. Saalfrank put the potential delay at six months to one year, contingent on how quickly a resolution to the Iran conflict materialises, a variable entirely outside the industry’s hands.
ConocoPhillips holds partnership stakes in QatarEnergy’s main LNG project, spanning both the offshore North Field positions and the Ras Laffan onshore infrastructure. That makes the recovery trajectory at Ras Laffan directly relevant to the company’s long-term LNG exposure.
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