QatarEnergy may face delays to some of its planned Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) expansion projects as the ongoing crisis around the Strait of Hormuz prevents critical equipment from reaching Qatar, Reuters reported, quoting Saad al-Kaabi, QatarEnergy CEO and Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs.

Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum in New York, Al-Kaabi said the disruption was affecting the delivery of equipment needed for expansion projects, adding that QatarEnergy is currently producing only a “very minute” volume of LNG.

Al-Kaabi stated that the impact of the Hormuz disruption would depend on how long shipping restrictions persist and whether equipment and facilities can reach Qatar. The crisis could therefore affect the schedule of additional LNG trains under the expansion program.

Therefore, the duration of the Hormuz shipping restrictions will dictate the extent of the delays to Qatar’s broader capacity roadmap. Any prolonged disruption jeopardizes the commissioning timelines across all three major phases: North Field East, which targets a 42.9% capacity increase to 110 million tons per year across four trains, followed by North Field South and North Field West, which are designed to ultimately scale national production to 142 million tons per year.

Al-Kaabi expects the first North Field East (NFE) train to begin production in 2027, while the North Field ​South (NFS) remains scheduled for 2028.