Hormuz crisis threatens Qatar's $83 billion LNG expansion, CEO says

September 21, 2026 at 09:30 PM2 min

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QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi said the Strait of Hormuz crisis could delay the company's LNG expansion because critical equipment cannot reach Qatar. The first North Field East train remains on schedule for the first half of 2027, but additional trains depend on Hormuz traffic resuming and North Field South starting on time in 2028. Qatar's Ras Laffan strike knocked out 17% of export capacity and an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue.

Key Facts

Iran's March 18 missile strike on Ras Laffan Industrial City knocked out two of Qatar's 14 LNG trains, removing 17% of export capacity and an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue.
QatarEnergy expects the damaged trains, representing 12.8 million tons of annual capacity, to stay offline three to five years.
Shell's Pearl gas-to-liquids plant, also struck in the attack, is due back in service by the first quarter of 2027.
Qatar is drawing on its Golden Pass joint venture with ExxonMobil in Texas, with Train 2 due online in the second half of 2026 and Train 3 in the first half of 2027.
LNG tankers have resumed limited transits through the Strait, with at least two carriers passing through and two more completing ship-to-ship transfers off Oman in the past week.

Expansion Delays

QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi said the Strait of Hormuz crisis could delay the company's LNG expansion because critical equipment cannot reach Qatar. North Field East's first production train remains on schedule for the first half of 2027, but additional trains are contingent on Hormuz traffic resuming and North Field South beginning production on schedule in 2028. Al-Kaabi ruled out pipelines as a Hormuz workaround on commercial and technical grounds, saying LNG cannot move through a pipeline in liquefied form and would require redundant facilities. QatarEnergy entered 2026 with a target to lift capacity from 77 million tons a year to 142 million tons by 2030, a program requiring roughly $83 billion in combined investment from ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni.

Production Impact

The Ras Laffan strike has removed 12.8 million tons of capacity before a single new train reached full output. Al-Kaabi said Qatar is producing a very minute volume of LNG now and could resume normal operations within a couple of weeks of Hormuz reopening. Asian and European gas prices are at their highest since the 2022-2023 energy crisis, and analysts expect a further one-third increase this winter if cold weather compounds low European storage levels.

Golden Pass Venture

Qatar is drawing on its Golden Pass joint venture with ExxonMobil in Texas to add supply, with Train 2 due online in the second half of 2026 and Train 3 in the first half of 2027. The 18-million-ton-a-year facility reached full capacity after Train 1 shipped its first cargo in April. Al-Kaabi told forum attendees in New York that QatarEnergy will become the largest LNG trader in the world by far.