QatarEnergy to buy up to 3 million tonnes of LNG a year under 20-year deal
Key Facts
QatarEnergy said on Oct. 29 it had signed a long-term agreement to buy liquefied natural gas from Woodside Energy, with deliveries expected to begin in 2030 and the contract running for 20 years. Target purchases are up to 3 million tonnes a year, while the supply arrangement provides for reaching that level when the third train at the Louisiana LNG project starts operating. The deal adds to QatarEnergy’s purchases of U.S. gas and strengthens its ability to meet rising global demand for LNG. Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi said the agreement adds volumes to the company’s portfolio. He said the deal is in line with the company’s drive to diversify and grow its supply portfolio.
Woodside said LNG supply would be on a free-on-board, or “FOB,” basis and would begin when the project’s second train starts operating. Volumes would then rise to 3 million tonnes a year when the third train starts operating, according to the company’s statement. Reaching the stated annual volume is therefore tied to the project’s progress and the start-up of its units, while the agreement sets expected deliveries to begin in 2030. QatarEnergy’s statement did not say that the full target volume would arrive from the first year of deliveries. The shipping arrangement and volume ramp-up put the project at the center of the agreement’s timeline for the two companies.
The foundational Louisiana project consists of 3 trains, with total capacity of 16.5 million tonnes a year, and targets production of its first LNG cargo in 2029, Woodside said. This separates the project’s target date for first production from the expected start of deliveries to QatarEnergy in 2030. Woodside CEO and Managing Director Liz Westcott said the agreement was “a strong vote of confidence in the Louisiana LNG project” and an important step in building its long-term customer base. Woodside is relying on long-term contracts to market the project’s output as it approaches first production. The company said QatarEnergy’s agreement joins its earlier deal with Uniper, and that the two contracts provide “sustainable revenue certainty” for a significant portion of Louisiana’s output.
Woodside announced an agreement with Uniper in April 2025 to supply 1 million tonnes a year from the Louisiana project, in addition to up to 1 million tonnes a year from its global portfolio. QatarEnergy’s agreement adds a long-term buyer for the project, alongside the Uniper contract, which combines supply from the project with supply from the company’s global portfolio. In an update published on Oct. 30, 2025, Woodside said construction was 19% complete and the project was targeting first LNG production in 2029. The update reflects the stage the project had reached about a year before the QatarEnergy deal was announced. The project’s announced foundational capacity is 16.5 million tonnes a year.
QatarEnergy previously announced on Oct. 22 two long-term agreements to buy up to 4 million tonnes of LNG a year from Cheniere through 2054. The Woodside deal adds another U.S. source to a series of long-term supply agreements the company announced during October. Saad al-Kaabi said the agreements strengthen the diversification and growth of QatarEnergy’s portfolio, and that the additional volumes support its ability to meet rising global demand for LNG. In its 2025 update, Woodside pointed to the possibility of adding two trains to the project and said authorized total capacity was 27.6 million tonnes a year. First production remains targeted for 2029, with deliveries to QatarEnergy expected to begin in 2030.