The natural gas industry in Qatar covers a large portion of the world supply of natural gas. According to the U.S. International Trade Administration, Qatar has the world's third-largest known natural gas reserves after Russia and Iran, with approximately 843 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. The majority of Qatar's natural gas is located in the massive offshore North Field, which spans an area roughly equivalent to Qatar itself. A part of the world's largest non-associated, natural-gas field, the North Field, is a geological extension of Iran's South Pars / North Dome Gas-Condensate field, which holds an additional of recoverable natural-gas reserves.
While Qatar is a significant oil producer, the government has devoted more resources to the development of natural gas in the contemporary era, particularly for export as liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 2006, Qatar reportedly surpassed Indonesia to become the largest exporter of LNG in the world. Together, revenues from the oil and natural-gas sectors amount to 60% of the country's GDP. Domestically, Qatar's energy supply is produced almost exclusively by natural gas (99.2%), with oil making up the rest (0.8%).
As of 2021, Qatar was ranked as the world's sixth-largest dry natural gas producer and the second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter. It holds the position of being the third-largest holder of natural gas reserves globally.
Production and exports
In 1997, Qatar began exporting LNG when it sent of LNG to Spain. Qatar has become the world's leading LNG exporter next to Australia. In 2009, Qatar exported nearly of LNG. Japan, South Korea, and India were the primary destinations for Qatar's LNG exports, accounting for about 57% in 2009. European markets including Belgium, the United Kingdom and Spain were also significant buyers of Qatari LNG, accounting for an additional 33%.
In 2009, Qatar produced of natural gas, three times the amount produced in 2000. Although the increase in natural-gas production fuels the growing natural-gas requirements of domestic industry and its GTL projects, the bulk of this increase is going towards LNG exports. Qatar's natural-gas consumption in 2009 was approximately . During 2009, Qatar exported over of natural gas, 70% of which was LNG. Qatar currently exports about of natural gas per day to the UAE and Oman through the Dolphin pipeline.
In March 2011, Qatar completed its monumental cycle of LNG infrastructure expansion with the inauguration QatarEnergy LNG N(4), Train 7 ( per year), bringing the total capacity to per year. Qatari government officials have noted that they do not anticipate building any more LNG facilities in the near-term future, and that any additional capacity increases will be the result of improvements in the existing facilities.
In 2016, QatarEnergy has entered into an agreement with Dolphin Energy to increase exports by 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. This increase if natural gas exports to UAE is responding to increase of demand in the UAE and also matches the export gas pipeline's supply capacity of 3.2 billion cubic feet per day.
In line with Qatar's plans to significantly expand natural-gas production during the next five years, the country in 2018 pledged investments worth $11.6 billion in Germany, including for the construction of a LNG terminal. QatarEnergy thereby hopes to compete with Russian LNG deliveries to Germany amid a fierce debate in the country about its dependence on Russian LNG supply.
As part of the development in Qatar's LNG sector they are planning to increase LNG production capacity. Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani announced that the nation's LNG production capacity is set to rise to 126 million tones a year by 2027. This ambitious expansion aims to bolster Qatar's position further as a leading LNG exporter on the global stage.
In addition to the expansion of LNG production, Qatar is also focusing on environmental initiatives, particularly in carbon capture and storage (CCS). The Emir highlighted the construction of the Middle East's largest carbon capture facility, capable of isolating and storing 2.5 million tones of carbon per year within four years. By 2030, this capacity is expected to increase to 9 million tones per year.
In December 2024, threatened to halt gas supplies to the European Union if it was found to be in breach of the bloc's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
On March 2, 2026, on the third day of the Iran war, the Qatari Ministry of Defense announced that Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial Area were struck by two Iranian drones. QatarEnergy soon announced that it has ceased all production of natural gas and its associated products, reportedly on order by Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi. It later announced that it was declaring Force Majeure on its contracts with buyers, and internal sources speaking to Reuters said that it would soon be shutting down gas liquefication, and that restarting it would take weeks. These announcements caused increases in world gas prices, which analysts said was a part of the Iranian government's plan to apply pressure on the world to stop the war. On March 6, al-Kaabi warned that if the war continues other Gulf energy producers may be forced to halt exports and declare Force Majeure, and that "this will bring down economies of the world". This announcement caused a jump in global oil prices.
Also on March 6, it was reported that according to satellite imagery analysis by both Bloomberg and the Energy Economics and Society Research Institute in Tokyo, Ras Laffan, the main gas facility in Qatar, appears to have not been damaged before the "unprecedented shutdown" which sent fuel prices higher.
North Field
The bulk of Qatar's expected future increases in natural-gas production will come from projects related to the massive North Field. In 2005, Qatari government officials became worried that the North Field’s natural gas reserves were being developed too quickly, which could reduce pressure in the field's reservoirs and possibly damage its long-term production potential. In early 2005, the government placed a moratorium on additional natural-gas development projects at the North Field, pending the results of a study of the field's reservoirs. In April 2017, Qatar lifted the moratorium to allow new developments to begin.
In November 2005, ExxonMobil started production at the Al Khaleej block in the North Field at a rate of . In July 2006, the company announced a $3 billion investment to expand this output to per day by 2009, which fuels power plants and industrial customers in Ras Laffan Industrial City, the QatarEnergy LNG project, and as feedstock at the ORYX GTL. ExxonMobil is the largest foreign investor in Qatar's North Field. Aside from Al Khaleej, the company is also involved in increasing natural gas supplies for the QatarEnergy LNG projects, each of which will rely on significant increases in output from the North Field over the next several years (see the LNG Section below for additional details).
Qatar required foreign expertise to develop the North Field and initiate LNG production. Even though Qatar had expropriated the North Field in the late 1970s, pundits viewed it as "expropriation-lite," since Royal Dutch Shell continued to act as adviser and expert consultant. The emirate was actually anxious to grant equity stakes to international oil companies in any venture because QatarEnergy lacked the financial and technical expertise to efficiently develop the fields.
Shell, previously one of Qatar's major partners, abandoned all ongoing discussions, ostensibly lured by the promise of more-profitable gas ventures in Australia. The emirate, however, forged ahead with its plans through collaboration with QatarEnergy, BP and CFP and formed Qatargas, today QatarEnergy LNG. Moved in part by intense Japanese interest in LNG imports, the emirate tasked QatarEnergy LNG with North-Field development. Yet intermittent foreign and domestic issues have impeded this project for another decade.
Gas-to-liquids Gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology uses a refining process to turn natural gas into liquid fuels, such as low sulfur diesel and naphtha, among other products. GTL projects have received significant attention in Qatar over the last several years, and Qatar's government had originally set a target of developing of GTL capacity by 2012. However, project cancellations and delays since the North Field reserve assessment, has substantially lowered this target. There were three big GTL projects at hand:
Barzan Gas project and Palm GTL: The Palm project was originally slated to produce of liquids for export, although estimated costs spiraled from $7 billion to $15 billion according to industry estimates. And so in February 2007, ExxonMobil announced that it had cancelled its planned Palm GTL project due to rising costs. The company will instead develop the Barzan gas project in the North Field, which is scheduled to supply of natural gas to Qatar’s domestic market. The Barzan field is expected to come online 2016. Oryx GTL: a joint-venture of QP (51%) and Sasol-Chevron GTL (49%), and has the capacity to produce of liquid fuels. The plant was formally commissioned in June 2006, but technical problems prevented the consortium from loading the first export cargo until April 2007. The Oryx project uses about per day of natural gas feedstock from the Al Khaleej field. Depending on the outcome of the North Field reservoir study, Oryx GTL may choose to expand production capacity of the plant in the future. Pearl GTL: In February 2007, the same week that ExxonMobil decided to cancel its GTL plans, Shell held a groundbreaking ceremony for its Pearl GTL project. The Pearl plant is 51% owned by QP, though Shell will act as the operator of the project with a 49% stake. The facility is expected to use of natural gas feedstock per day to produce of GTL products as well as of associated condensate and LPG. Pearl GTL will be developed in phases, with of GTL product capacity expected by 2010 and a second phase expected in 2011. Like the Palm GTL Shell's Pearl GTL has experienced significant cost escalation. Originally estimated at $4 billion, industry sources believe Pearl GTL will now cost between $12 and $18 billion. Pearl GTL will be the first integrated GTL operation in the world, meaning it will have upstream natural gas production integrated with the onshore conversion plant.
By 2012, Qatar is likely to have of GTL capacity from Oryx GTL and Pearl GTL.
Gas to food Natural gas can also be used as main raw material in the production of high protein feed for cattle, fish, or poultry with tiny water and land foot print by cultivating Methylococcus capsulatus bacteria culture. Qatar can emerge as a major food products exporter by using its cheaper natural gas. The carbon dioxide gas produced as by-product from these plants can be put to use in cheaper production of algae oil or spirulina from algaculture to mitigate green house gas (GHG) emissions.
Natural gas project The government celebrated twenty years of independence in September 1991 with the start of phase one of the North Field development project. The gas project, in a 6000 km2 field off Qatar's northeast coast, is supervised by Bechtel based in the United States and by Technip in France. The project marks a major step in Qatar's switch from a reliance on oil to gas for most of its revenues. The North Field is the world's largest natural gas field, and its exploitation will place Qatar in the top ranks of the world's gas producers. Natural gas from other fields provides fuel for power generation and raw materials for fertilizers, petrochemicals, and steel plants. With the expected depletion of oil reserves by about 2023, planners hope natural gas from the North Field will provide a significant underpinning for the country's economic development.