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Qatar University (QU) participated in the 19th QatarEnergy LNG Engineering Conference, which featured leading experts, professionals, and decision-makers from around the world.The QU pavilion presented a wide range of research projects and technological innovations that highlight QU’s efforts in supporting sustainable energy and digital transformation. Among the innovations was a hybrid energy harvesting system combining piezoelectric and electromagnetic technologies for remote sensing in oil and gas pipelines and nondestructive testing solutions.The system using ultrasonic waves assesses sustainable construction materials such as recycled fibre-reinforced concrete and 3D printing technologies.QU revealed several technical solutions that support sustainability and industrial safety. These included the innovative ClearExhaust device, capable of reducing diesel engine emissions by up to 30%; a smart vibration isolation system using hybrid magnetic materials; the automated Raqeeb platform for heat stress monitoring; and a high-efficiency car radiator designed for hot climates. In the field of smart and robotic technologies, QU presented advanced innovations that improve performance in industrial and environmental sectors. Highlights included HazBot, a robot for inspections in hazardous environments; robotic systems for inspecting gas tanks and complex pipelines; the MasterPi system for developing automation solutions; and a spherical photovoltaic solar system designed to enhance solar energy efficiency.Faculty members and students also participated in scientific sessions and presentations, in addition to showcasing research posters addressing themes such as innovation, technology, sustainability, integrity, operational reliability and safety, and best practices in operational excellence.

QatarEnergy LNG hosted the ‘19th Engineering Conference’ bringing together industry professionals, academics, and partners to exchange new ideas, share lessons learned, and to strengthen networking across the oil and gas sector.The conference held at the Qatar National Convention Centre recently, was attended by experts from QatarEnergy LNG, shareholders, local and international companies, and leading local universities.The event served as a premier platform for the exchange of technical knowledge, innovative technologies, and practical lessons learned, while offering valuable opportunities for professional networking and cross-sector collaboration.It also emphasised meaningful engagement between the energy industry and local academic institutions, enabling productive dialogue and potential partnerships that contribute to the sustainable growth of Qatar’s energy sector.QatarEnergy LNG CEO Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani opened the conference with a message that underscored the strength of partnerships in Qatar’s oil and gas sector and the privilege of hosting such a milestone event.He stated: “This conference marks an important milestone for QatarEnergy LNG. Engineering excellence, innovation, and operational resilience and reliability remain at the core of our progress and today we reaffirm that commitment. We are not only gathered here to share knowledge, but to also align, challenge, and inspire one another.”This year’s conference marks a transition from an annual engineering forum to a biennial conference. Moving to a two-year cycle enables the company to gather richer insights, highlight meaningful project milestones, and engage in forward-looking discussions that reflect the rapid evolution of the industry.The conference concentrated on four core themes that drive performance and sustainable growth in the LNG and broader oil and gas sector: digitalisation, cyber security, and artificial intelligence; decarbonisation initiatives; aging facilities and asset life extension; and energy efficiency and yield improvement.The conference hosted a management panel discussion titled: ‘Expansion & Sustainability - Enabling QatarEnergy LNG’s Future’.The discussion focused on QatarEnergy LNG's commissioning and operational integration of expansion projects as the panellists shared insights into the company's future plans and strategies in this field.The event included five technical panel discussions, forty technical presentations, eighty poster sessions showcasing key innovations and field achievements, and fifteen booths from our shareholders, various academic institutions, industry partners and QatarEnergy LNG highlighting advanced solutions and the latest technologies and research in the oil and gas industry, providing valuable insights to enhance operations.On the first day, attendees explored parallel sessions across the four thematic tracks, with key technical presentations and topics spanning collaborative development of in-house ‘Predictive Emission Monitoring Systems’ for QatarEnergy LNG, a pilot study for boilers and turbines, a slated Closed Flare Retrofit Industrialisation project, and a structured approach to asset life extension ensuring safety and integrity.Other notable presentations included discussions on synergising conventional and unconventional reservoir completion technologies, disruptive decarbonisation through lower carbon aviation fuel and industrial CO2 recycling, and the use of artificial intelligence agents to revolutionise reservoir characterisation and optimisation.Additional papers highlighted resource optimisation on legacy DCS controllers, energy efficiency strategies for reducing natural gas consumption in rolling mill reheat furnaces, and ongoing poster presentations from industry and academia focusing on reliability, digital twin technology and process safety.The day also featured sessions on AI-enabled reservoir forecasting, data-driven maintenance, and digitalisation efforts across the asset base, all designed to foster practical knowledge transfer and collaboration.The second day continued with a focus on digitalisation, cyber security and artificial intelligence, decarbonisation initiatives, aging facilities and asset life extension, and energy efficiency and yield optimisation, with further technical presentations, case studies and interactive discussions.Highlights included explorations of artificial intelligence in energy systems and process optimisation, decarbonised heat production for LNG plants with hydrogen and CO2 integration concepts, subsea pipeline damage assessment and repair, and the role of mixed refrigerant technology in achieving energy and cost savings through digitalisation.Attendees also heard about streamlined well surveillance through digitalisation, automation and production data optimisation, sustainable hydrogen supply chain networks with cross-industry collaboration, and reliability paradigms supported by AI-enabled predictive maintenance for LNG facilities.Other sessions addressed eco-friendly transformation of end-of-life membranes for industrial wastewater treatment and asset life extension, aging LNG facility lifecycle environmental challenges, and advances in physics-informed neural networks for transformer insulation degradation prediction, complemented by discussions on smart maintenance and corrosion inhibition for aging LNG facilities and AI/ML applications in the process industry.Additional topics included innovative pump technology for downhole wet gas compression and finite element analysis of LNG pipelines with virtual flame sensing for turbines.A vibrant posters programme complemented the technical programme, featuring practical case studies and research from QatarEnergy, QatarEnergy LNG, ExxonMobil, Qatar Shell, North Oil Company, QCHEM, Qafco, Qapco, Qatar University, HBKU, University of Doha for Science & Technology and Texas A&M Qatar.

Qatar's GDP (gross domestic product) growth is seen nearly doubling to 4.8% in 2026 on "significant" liquefied natural gas (LNG) output through North Field expansion, boosting fiscal surpluses and supporting business optimism, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW)."We project Qatar’s GDP growth at 2.7% for this year and 4.8% for 2026," said the ICAEW Economic Insight Q3 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics.Industrial output data for the second quarter or Q2 showed a 2.4% year-on-year growth, spurred by stronger mining production, although this comes off a low base from last year, said the economic update.The July report from the Gas Exporting Countries Forum showed LNG production trends are supportive of exports and "we think activity will improve in the remainder of the year, before surging in 2026 as planned projects are completed."Qatar targets LNG capacity target of 142mn tonnes per annum (Mtpa) by end-2030; up nearly 85% from the current 77 Mtpa, and up 13% on the intermediate target of 126 Mtpa by 2027.The first production boost will come from the North Field East project by mid-2026, followed by the North Field South phase of the expansion. The North Field West phase is in its early stages, with construction likely to begin in 2027.The expansion of the North Field gas project means the energy sector will play a more prominent role in the next five years, boosting the government's ability to support the economy, according to the update."We expect Qatar to run a budget surplus of QR14.1bn (1.7% of GDP) this year and see the surplus more than tripling in 2026, thanks to the LNG production boost," ICAEW said.This is despite a cumulative deficit of QR1.3bn in the first half (H1), 2025; reflecting a rise in public spending against the backdrop of hydrocarbon revenue headwinds, it said.Businesses remain optimistic about the outlook despite uncertainty over demand and recent PMI (purchasing managers’ index) prints have held above the H1 average of 51.1, owing to ongoing labour market strength,"We continue to project an expansion of 3.6% in the non-energy economy this year and expect a similar pace of growth in 2026," it said.The outlook continues to benefit from improvements in the regulatory framework and business environment, which have helped elevate the country's competitiveness ranking by two places to ninth globally in the latest IMD competitiveness index.Forecasting Qatar’s inflation to average 0.4% this year but set to rise above 2% in 2026; it said Qatar has the second-lowest rate of inflation in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region, behind that of Bahrain. Food and communication are the key drivers of Qatar’s inflation, it said.Finding that prices are lower than last year across most of the CPI (consumer price index) basket, though the drag from the housing and utilities category "is easing, albeit remaining substantial", it said "we expect the impact of these disinflationary forces to gradually fade over time."With the US Federal Reserve resuming interest rate cuts in September and pencilling in a cumulative reduction of 125 basis points by end-2026, it said Qatar Central Bank is slated to follow suit, which will support credit expansion and spending.

Around 270 bcm of approved or under construction LNG liquefaction capacity is currently in the pipeline to be commissioned by 2030, primarily driven by projects in the US and Qatar, according to International Gas Union (IGU).This marks a new growth phase following a prolonged period of stagnation, reflecting the inherently cyclical nature of the liquefaction sector, IGU said in its ‘Global Gas Report 2025’.These cycles are driven by the capital-intensive nature of projects – typically costing around $0.75bn per bcm – and long development timelines, often spanning four to five years from Final Investment Decision (FID) to operation.To manage market risk, developers usually secure most of their capacity through long-term contracts. Due to these factors, the LNG market is expected to remain broadly balanced, with limited opportunity for new developments in the short term and ample supply by 2030.Amid rising demand, there is indication of growing LNG supply reinforcing natural gas’ role as a reliable fuel to meet expected shortfalls, IGU noted.Despite tightness in the near term, the global LNG market is expected to gradually ease over the next few years, and move into surplus as new supply comes online toward 2030.According to IGU, uncertainty surrounding the timing of LNG supply persists despite the expected surge associated with the next wave of LNG projects.In October 2024, TotalEnergies revised its forecast, now anticipating that the next wave of LNG supply will only come to market from 2027, two-years after the previously projected 2025 timeline.The supply outlook remains uncertain due to potential delays as well as regulatory, technical and financial risks to projects. While there is a potential for increased project FIDs as a result of US import tariffs, policies such as the sanctions on Russian LNG are set to strike a blow to global LNG supply as upcoming projects’ ability to acquire necessary equipment, secure vessels and find buyers is becoming increasingly limited.Disruptions to key LNG transit routes, such as the Strait of Hormuz, increase shipping times and costs, undermining project economics and investor confidence. This may lead to slower FIDs for projects dependent on long-distance or chokepoint-exposed routes.IGU noted gas has also proved itself a vital component of global energy security. LNG trade has historically offered cross-border flexibility to respond to shifting demand-supply dynamics during market uncertainties.For instance, the 2022-2024 European energy crisis following the reduction of Russian piped gas supply was stabilised using LNG imports from the US and Qatar.Similarly, East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea rely on spot LNG purchases to balance seasonal fluctuations, establishing natural gas and LNG as geopolitical tools for preventing deeper economic or social fallout through resilient and diversified supply, IGU said.

QatarEnergy continues to grow its LNG portfolio by expanding production capacity while reducing carbon intensity.Putting sustainability into practice, QatarEnergy continues to invest in advanced LNG vessels. The energy major has already ordered a fleet of 128 new LNG vessels, designed with the latest technologies, QatarEnergy noted in its 2024 Sustainability Report.“We aim to achieve a capacity of 160 MTPY post-2030, solidifying our role as a major provider of cleaner energy solutions globally. This capacity target includes the North Field West Expansion Project announced by QatarEnergy in 2024,” QatarEnergy noted.Advanced energy-efficient technologies and carbon capture systems are being integrated into new LNG facilities, alongside ongoing improvements in existing operations to reduce emissions and flaring.As part of QatarEnergy’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of its operations, it has taken a significant step forward by ordering a fleet of 128 new LNG vessels, designed with the latest technologies that will enhance operational efficiency while minimising environmental impacts.The new fleet will be equipped with highly efficient dual-fuel engines, advanced hull designs, and underwater coatings to reduce resistance, optimise fuel consumption, and significantly decrease emissions.The new LNG vessels will feature dual-fuel engines, enabling them to operate on both LNG and conventional marine fuels. This flexibility allows for a significant reduction in GHG emissions compared to traditional fuel sources. LNG, being a cleaner alternative, helps lower CO2 emissions, while the vessels’ efficient engine systems minimise NOx and SOx emissions.Additionally, the advanced hull design and underwater coatings will reduce drag and resistance, enabling smoother voyages with less fuel consumption and, consequently, fewer emissions.Another standout feature of these vessels is the air lubrication system. This technology creates a thin layer of bubbles beneath the hull, effectively reducing friction between the vessel and the water, which in turn lowers fuel consumption and further reduces emissions.“By optimising fuel efficiency through this cutting-edge technology, the new LNG vessels will not only help to reduce the operational carbon footprint but also enhance fuel savings,” QatarEnergy noted.

QatarEnergy continues to grow its LNG portfolio by expanding production capacity while reducing carbon intensity.Putting sustainability into practice, QatarEnergy continues to invest in advanced LNG vessels. The energy major has already ordered a fleet of 128 new LNG vessels, designed with the latest technologies, QatarEnergy noted in its 2024 Sustainability Report.“We aim to achieve a capacity of 160 MTPY post-2030, solidifying our role as a major provider of cleaner energy solutions globally. This capacity target includes the North Field West Expansion Project announced by QatarEnergy in 2024,” QatarEnergy noted.Advanced energy-efficient technologies and carbon capture systems are being integrated into new LNG facilities, alongside ongoing improvements in existing operations to reduce emissions and flaring.As part of QatarEnergy’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of its operations, it has taken a significant step forward by ordering a fleet of 128 new LNG vessels, designed with the latest technologies that will enhance operational efficiency while minimising environmental impacts.The new fleet will be equipped with highly efficient dual-fuel engines, advanced hull designs, and underwater coatings to reduce resistance, optimise fuel consumption, and significantly decrease emissions.The new LNG vessels will feature dual-fuel engines, enabling them to operate on both LNG and conventional marine fuels. This flexibility allows for a significant reduction in GHG emissions compared to traditional fuel sources. LNG, being a cleaner alternative, helps lower CO2 emissions, while the vessels’ efficient engine systems minimise NOx and SOx emissions.Additionally, the advanced hull design and underwater coatings will reduce drag and resistance, enabling smoother voyages with less fuel consumption and, consequently, fewer emissions.Another standout feature of these vessels is the air lubrication system. This technology creates a thin layer of bubbles beneath the hull, effectively reducing friction between the vessel and the water, which in turn lowers fuel consumption and further reduces emissions.“By optimising fuel efficiency through this cutting-edge technology, the new LNG vessels will not only help to reduce the operational carbon footprint but also enhance fuel savings,” QatarEnergy noted.

The biggest oil producer in the United Arab Emirates agreed to supply liquefied natural gas to Indian Oil Corp for 15 years as it lines up more binding contracts for a new export terminal.Abu Dhabi National Oil Co will provide 1mn tonnes of LNG annually to the Indian state-run entity, primarily from the under-construction project at Ruwais, according to a statement Wednesday.Adnoc, which had signed a preliminary agreement in September, also has a deal to supply an additional 1.2mn tonnes a year of the fuel from its Das Island operations to Indian Oil.The two deals will make the Indian company Adnoc’s biggest LNG customer by 2029, said the UAE firm, which is locking in long-term customers for its export capacity following agreements with buyers from Germany to Malaysia. For India, the deals will help its plan to ramp up the share of gas in the country’s energy mix by the end of this decade, even though infrastructure bottlenecks are constraining the expansion.The Ruwais project is expected to start commercial operations in 2028, which will more than double the company’s LNG capacity to 15 million tons a year, Adnoc said.The company has committed over 8mn tonnes a year of the project’s 9.6mn-tonnes-a-year capacity to international customers through long-term agreements.Adnoc Gas Plc said last year that it expects to acquire its parent Adnoc’s 60% stake in the Ruwais project at cost in the second half of 2028.

Market EyeQatar remains among the top three LNG exporters globally in the latest data released by Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).Last month, global LNG exports surged by 12% y-o-y (3.83mn tonnes) to reach 36.55mn tonnes, a "record high" for the month and the "strongest" annual growth rate since July 2019.The increase was driven by higher exports from both GECF Member Countries and non-GECF countries, which more than offset a decline in LNG re-exports.Between January and July 2025, global LNG exports rose by 5.0% y-o-y (11.93mn tonnes) to reach 249.66mn tonnes, largely supported by gains from non-GECF exporters, and to a lesser extent by GECF Member Countries and LNG re-exports.Non-GECF countries remained the largest exporters in July, with their market share rising to 55.2%, up from 53.1% a year earlier.In contrast, the shares of GECF Member Countries and LNG re-exports declined from 45.5% and 1.4% to 44.3% and 0.5%, respectively.In July, LNG exports from GECF member and observer countries rose by 8.7% y-o-y (1.30mn tonnes) to reach 16.20mn tonnes. At the country level, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Malaysia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Peru, Qatar, Senegal, and Trinidad and Tobago contributed to the increase, offsetting a decline in exports from the United Arab Emirates.From January to July, GECF LNG exports grew by 1.8% year-on-year (1.99mn tonnes) to 113.59mn tonnes. The additional volumes were mainly driven by Angola, Mauritania, Nigeria, Qatar, Senegal and Trinidad and Tobago.In Algeria and Malaysia, reduced maintenance activities at the Arzew and Bintulu LNG facilities, respectively, supported the rise in exports.Additionally, higher feedgas availability boosted LNG exports from Equatorial Guinea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago. The ramp-up of production from the GTA FLNG 1 facility in Mauritania/Senegal continued to support growing export volumes from both countries.Qatar’s LNG export growth was supported by production exceeding the nameplate capacity at the Ras Laffan liquefaction complex, GECF data show.Conversely, the decline in LNG exports from the United Arab Emirates was attributed to planned maintenance at the Das Island LNG facility.In July, non-GECF countries’ LNG exports surged by 16% y-o-y (2.82mn tonnes) to reach 20.18mn tonnes, which is the second highest monthly LNG exports after March 2025.The stronger LNG exports was driven by Australia, Canada, Mexico, and the US, which together offset weaker LNG exports from Norway.Between January and July 2025, non-GECF LNG exports grew by 7.9% (9.80mn tonnes) y-o-y to 134.03mn tonnes, supported by stronger LNG exports from Canada, Mexico and the US.Stronger LNG output from Gorgon and Ichthys—due to reduced maintenance—boosted Australia’s LNG exports, offsetting lower flows from North West Shelf caused by limited feedgas.In Canada and Mexico, rising exports were driven by ramp-ups at LNG Canada and Altamira FLNG 1, respectively.The US saw the largest non-GECF increase, led by surging volumes from Corpus Christi, Freeport, and Plaquemines. Corpus Christi and Plaquemines benefited from new train ramp-ups, while Freeport’s gains stemmed from reduced maintenance and debottlenecking that expanded production capacity.