Qatar’s damaged liquefied natural gas (LNG) production could take until the first quarter of 2027 to fully repair, Shell has said.
Chief financial officer Sinead Gorman told reporters, as cited by Bloomberg, that sections of Shell’s Pearl gas-to-liquids plant hit by a missile strike during the Middle East conflict should be back in service by the first quarter of 2027. However, unaffected units at the facility could restart as soon as shipping lanes reopen. Despite that, Shell’s guidance for the third quarter assumes zero output from Qatar, a sign of how uncertain the timeline for a full resumption remains.
Shell holds a 30 percent stake in QatarEnergy LNG’s fourth expansion train at Ras Laffan, equivalent to 2.4 million tonnes a year of equity production, a facility that has continued operating throughout the disruption. Chief executive Wael Sawan, speaking to Bloomberg Television, described the power cut as a short-term event rather than a structural one, while Ms Gorman had earlier this year flagged Qatar as the single biggest swing factor in the group’s gas output.
