Close Menu
  • Featured
    • News
    • Consumption
    • Environment
    • Industry
    • Opinion
    • Policy
    • Production
    • Storage
    • Transmission
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

News, investigations, and analysis — our top stories every morning to start your day right.

Trending
Illustration of the Lamborghini Temerario GT3, a high-performance race car designed for GT3 racing, showcasing its advanced engineering and aerodynamic features; this is an artificial illustration.
“They Turned a Supercar Into a Missile”: Lamborghini’s New Temerario GT3 Unleashes Brutal Power and Racing Precision for 2026 Debut
Illustration of the Zeekr 9X hybrid crossover showcasing its innovative design and advanced technology, generated by artificial intelligence.
“They Laughed at Chinese Cars—Not Anymore”: New Hybrid EV Hits 621-Mile Range and 0–60 in 3.1 Seconds
Illustration of China producing its first barrel of natural uranium from the 'National No 1 Uranium' project in Inner Mongolia, generated by artificial intelligence.
“Unleashing a Uranium Giant”: China Triumphantly Extracts First 55-Gallon Barrel from This Massive Natural Uranium Project, Sparking Global Ripples
Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube TikTok
Energy Reporters
Facebook X (Twitter) RSS
Subscribe
  • Featured
  • News
    Illustration of Higgs boson decay process, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “We Waited 5,000 Years for This”: CERN Detects Two Ultra-Rare God Particle Decays That Could Rewrite Particle Physics

    July 15, 2025 at 6:04 AM
    Illustration of Qatar's ambitious 3D Printed Schools Project, showcasing the world's largest 3D-printed educational buildings, generated by artificial intelligence.

    Unreal 3D Printing Milestone: Qatar Just Completed the World’s Largest 3D-Printed Buildings in a Stunning Feat of Engineering

    July 14, 2025 at 5:50 AM
    Illustration of the Quipu superstructure spanning over 1.3 billion light-years, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “These Colossal Structures Defy Imagination”: Astronomers Confirm Quipu’s Staggering 1.3-Billion-Light-Year Width, Making It the Largest Known Entity in the Universe

    July 13, 2025 at 9:51 AM
    Illustration of a quantum Rubik's cube with infinite possible states, generated by artificial intelligence.

    Puzzle World Shaken as Physicists Unveil Quantum Rubik’s Cube and Reveal the Most Efficient Solution Ever Achieved in Scientific History

    July 13, 2025 at 9:04 AM
    Illustration of AI-designed gravitational wave detectors revolutionizing scientific exploration.

    “This AI Outperformed Human Scientists”: Tasked With Reinventing Gravitational Wave Detectors, It Designed 50 Revolutionary Models That Could Change Everything

    July 12, 2025 at 6:06 PM
  • Use
    Illustration of the contrasting lifespans of gas and electric vehicles in the evolving automotive industry, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “These Numbers Will Shock Every Driver”: Landmark Study Reveals Gas Cars Last 12 Years While Electric Vehicles Average Just 3, Sending Shockwaves Through the Industryers”: Disturbing Study Reveals Gas Cars Last 12 Years, Electric Only 3

    July 12, 2025 at 10:06 AM

    Trump’s Energy Policy: A Complicated Road Ahead

    December 24, 2024 at 3:28 PM

    World’s First Grid-Scale Nuclear Fusion Plant to Be Built in Virginia

    December 23, 2024 at 2:57 PM

    How West Africa can expand power supply and meet climate goals

    June 15, 2020 at 6:33 AM

    Saudi Aramco shares tumble amid price war 

    March 10, 2020 at 1:18 AM
  • Climate
    Illustration of Google's exploration of nuclear energy for AI power, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “They’re Powering AI With Atoms Now”: Google’s Nuclear Energy Bet Aims to Fuel Gemini and Hit Net-Zero Emissions by 2030

    July 14, 2025 at 5:59 PM
    Illustration of the new tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell with 34.58% efficiency, an artificial illustration.

    “They Just Smashed the Limit”: Chinese Firm Reveals Hybrid Solar Cell With a Jaw-Dropping 34.58% Conversion Efficiency

    July 14, 2025 at 9:11 AM
    Illustration of Lenovo Yoga Solar laptop harnessing solar energy for power, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “This Laptop Runs on Pure Sunlight”: Lenovo Unveils Game-Changer That Charges Directly from the Sun, Leaving Power Cords Obsolete for Outdoor Users Everywhere

    July 13, 2025 at 5:55 PM
    Illustration of the world's first removable railway photovoltaic system in Switzerland, featuring solar panels integrated into train tracks.

    “Never Seen Anything Like This”: World’s First Rail-Mounted Solar System Shocks Experts as Trains Glide Through a Corridor of Power and Innovation

    July 13, 2025 at 4:53 PM
    Illustration of Saharan dust affecting solar panels, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “Solar Panels Are Suffocating”: This Alarming Saharan Dust Crisis Threatens to Halve Vital Energy Output Across 1,000 Square Miles

    July 13, 2025 at 3:46 PM
  • Industry
    Illustration of the Lamborghini Temerario GT3, a high-performance race car designed for GT3 racing, showcasing its advanced engineering and aerodynamic features; this is an artificial illustration.

    “They Turned a Supercar Into a Missile”: Lamborghini’s New Temerario GT3 Unleashes Brutal Power and Racing Precision for 2026 Debut

    July 15, 2025 at 10:08 AM
    Illustration of the Zeekr 9X hybrid crossover showcasing its innovative design and advanced technology, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “They Laughed at Chinese Cars—Not Anymore”: New Hybrid EV Hits 621-Mile Range and 0–60 in 3.1 Seconds

    July 15, 2025 at 9:04 AM
    Illustration of the advanced 3D printing system developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and JuggerBot 3D to integrate thermoset and thermoplastic materials, created by artificial intelligence.

    “They Just Cracked the Code for Supersonic Manufacturing”: U.S. Lab Unveils Dual-Material 3D Printing to Reinvent Flight and Power

    July 15, 2025 at 6:54 AM
    Illustration of major oil companies shifting focus from renewable energy back to traditional fossil fuels, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “They Bet on Green and Lost Billions”: Oil Giants That Pivoted to Renewables Are Now Watching Profits Crumble at Record Speed

    July 14, 2025 at 5:09 PM
    Illustration of Eric Schmidt's vision for space-based data centers and Relativity Space's role in revolutionizing energy demands, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “They’re Calling It Starlink on Steroids”: Former Google CEO’s Secret Satellite Project Could Eclipse Musk’s Entire Space Network

    July 14, 2025 at 4:07 PM
  • Opinion

    Pulling back the curtain on Turkey’s natural gas strategy

    September 1, 2020 at 5:59 AM

    How West Africa can expand power supply and meet climate goals

    June 15, 2020 at 6:33 AM

    Review: Oil and the Great Powers: Britain and Germany, 1914 to 1945

    June 9, 2020 at 5:40 AM

    Eastern Mediterranean gas: testing the field

    May 27, 2020 at 5:18 AM

    Energy geopolitics will hinge on the nationalism-globalism swinging door

    May 5, 2020 at 1:37 AM
  • Policy

    Trump’s Global Influence Wanes Amid Rising Foreign Policy Setbacks

    May 31, 2025 at 5:48 PM

    Glaciers in Crisis: Nearly 40% of Global Ice Mass is Already Lost

    May 24, 2025 at 4:52 PM

    iPhone Prices May Triple if Made in the U.S., Analyst Warns

    May 23, 2025 at 5:30 PM

    Labubu Craze: The Cute, Creepy Plush Toy Taking Over the World

    May 17, 2025 at 8:40 AM

    RFK Jr’s Vaccine Views Clash with Measles Outbreak Reality

    April 12, 2025 at 10:49 AM
  • Output
    Illustration of China producing its first barrel of natural uranium from the 'National No 1 Uranium' project in Inner Mongolia, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “Unleashing a Uranium Giant”: China Triumphantly Extracts First 55-Gallon Barrel from This Massive Natural Uranium Project, Sparking Global Ripples

    July 15, 2025 at 8:02 AM
    Illustration of the world’s first integrated hydrogen production simulator within a Small Modular Reactor control room, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “The Future Is Here, and It’s Terrifying”: World’s First Hydrogen-Generating Nuclear Reactor Launches in the US, Sparking Global Energy Revolution

    July 9, 2025 at 7:01 AM

    Billionaire Backlash Grows Against Trump’s Aggressive Tariff Plans

    May 10, 2025 at 5:50 PM

    McDonald’s Sees Worst Sales Since 2020 Amid Uncertainty

    May 1, 2025 at 8:23 AM

    Europe’s Economic Rebound Stalls as U.S. Tariffs Cast a Shadow

    April 30, 2025 at 5:34 PM
  • Storage
    Illustration of a predictive model accurately forecasting lithium metal anode failures in battery technology, created by artificial intelligence.

    China Unveils Groundbreaking Lithium Battery Tech That Flags Deadly Failures Seconds Before the Battery Fully Activates

    July 14, 2025 at 7:50 AM
    Illustration of the internal chemistry of battery materials affecting energy flow, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “These Hidden Hot Spots Hold the Key”: Scientists Uncover Secret Zones to Build Ultra-Durable EV Batteries, Triggering a Breakthrough in Car Longevity

    July 12, 2025 at 8:10 AM
    Illustration of a quantum battery device developed by RMIT University researchers, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “Australia Just Changed Batteries Forever”: Quantum Tech Unleashed With 1,000 Times the Life, Leaving Global Energy Giants Reeling in Shock

    July 11, 2025 at 8:02 AM
    Illustration of lithium-sulfur batteries revolutionizing electric vehicle charging times, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “We’ve Ended Range Anxiety Forever”: US Engineers Reveal EV Battery That Delivers a Complete Charge in Just 12 Minutes, Disrupting the Auto Industry Overnight

    July 11, 2025 at 5:48 AM
    Illustration of a cutting-edge aqueous organic redox flow battery demonstrating enhanced stability and efficiency, generated by artificial intelligence.

    Breakthrough Confirmed: New Water Battery Technology Achieves 220 Full Cycles With Absolutely No Drop in Performance or Energy Storage

    July 9, 2025 at 6:08 PM
  • Grid
    Illustration of a TGV train equipped with satellite internet technology, generated by artificial intelligence.

    “Elon Musk Promises to End France’s TGV Wi-Fi Nightmare”: Starlink Solution Set to Transform Train Travel With Blazing Internet Speeds

    July 10, 2025 at 8:53 AM

    Australian grid struggles with renewables boom: report

    February 24, 2020 at 5:32 AM

    Scottish eco-tariff exposes UK ‘greenwashing’ con

    February 18, 2020 at 2:31 AM

    Lukashenko attacks Russian merger demands

    February 16, 2020 at 4:53 AM

    Probe launched into UK’s Italian-made power cable

    January 29, 2020 at 8:37 PM
Energy Reporters

Is Qatargas a superior investment to Saudi Aramco?

Rosemary PotterRosemary PotterNovember 5, 2019 at 1:20 AM0
Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Telegram WhatsApp Email Copy Link
Follow Us
Google News
Share
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Copy Link

Sunday was a historic day for the Tadawul, Saudi Arabia’s 12-year-old stock exchange. Saudi Aramco announced that it will list up to three percent of the company on the exchange for private investors. Trading will start in December. Privatizing Saudi Aramco is a keystone of 34-year-old Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MbS) plan to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil.

Since the 2016 announcement of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, the financial world has worked itself into a frenzy about getting a piece of what would be the world’s largest private company. Yet the energy world has largely shrugged, instead showing more interest in Qatar, the small peninsula off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

In 2017, Qatar announced that it had lifted its self-imposed moratorium, initiated in 2005, on gas development. Now, the national company Qatargas is making final investment decisions for a consortium that will increase its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production from 77 million tons per year (mtpa) to 110 mtpa by 2024. This consortium is certain to include major international oil companies (majors) because the venture offers clear returns, a proven business model, participation shares, and a cleaner energy source that allows them to diversify their portfolios. The political risks associated with a youthful MbS only add to the calculation that Qatargas is a superior investment, even if Saudi Aramco will dominate headlines in the coming weeks.

Follow the majors

Qatargas has been developing the largest natural gas field on the planet, North Field, since 1999. Its first-mover advantage and low production costs made Qatar the world’s first large-scale LNG exporter. This success brought massive new volumes of LNG online into a market not entirely ready for them and led to the 2005 moratorium.

Qatar Petroleum owns a 70% stake in Qatargas, but majors Exxon Mobil (U.S.), Total (France), Shell (UK-Netherlands), and ConocoPhillips (U.S.) account for most of the remaining 30%. Exxon Mobil also played an integral role in building out North Field. These majors along with Eni (Italy) are considered frontrunners to participate in North Field’s expansion.

Meanwhile, no major has shown interest in Aramco’s privatization. For starters, it is a financial investment, which provides them no direction over strategy and operation. Fundamentally, Aramco is also a direct competitor and helping finance it would yield only symbolic good will. Even if it were a blue chip financial play, shareholders see risk in committing capital to an IPO that has faced a three-and-a-half year delay in implementation. What exactly are investors buying into? The majors will continue to invest in Saudi Arabia, of course. Total invested $1 billion in the Saudi midstream and downstream in February 2019. But they will shy away from helping finance the Saudi upstream.

In Qatar, meanwhile, the majors get direct participation shares in a proven business model that appears certain to play a central role in the global energy system moving forward.

Iranian setback

Qatar’s proven gas reserves stand at 843 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in 2019. Only Russia at 1,688 tcf and Iran at 1,194 tcf have more. While Russia is freely developing them, pipelines will remain its dominant mode of transport. Australia, currently the world’s largest LNG exporter, has only 114 tcf in reserves. Canada has 72 tcf and the United States has 438 tcf, both of whom consume much of this at home. Iran, in other words, is the only country that could potentially rival Qatar as an LNG exporter.

Yet Iran’s fortunes continue to sink. After the lifting of sanctions in 2015, Total and the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) joined a $5-billion consortium to develop South Pars, which adjoins North Field and is the key to Iran’s LNG future. As U.S. President Donald Trump began threatening to reimpose sanctions after taking office, Total saw the writing on the wall. It offered Qatar Petroleum a 25% share in concessions in South Africa in February 2018 to bolster its chances of participating in North Field’s expansion. It then quit South Pars in August 2018, three months before sanctions were, in fact, reimposed. CNPC initially assumed Total’s share, but also pulled out last month due to U.S. pressure.

Iran, for now, pledges to move forward with South Pars, the central project of which is slated to come online by 2021. Three days after CNPC’s departure, it even announced the discovery of a huge new field in southern Iran. Iran has also noticeably improved its standing in gasoline refining and petrochemicals. But it’s foolhardy to bet that it will develop a robust gas-exporting industry without international partners, if the last four decades are any indication.

It’s the energy transition, stupid

Aramco’s privatization is so long past due and comes at a time when oil is politically toxic. Natural gas is cheaper and can allow the world to transition to a cleaner fuel mix. Qatargas thus carries less environmental, financial, and political risk than Aramco.

But the company also carries less leadership risk. MbS may flash a charming smile when he visits Facebook’s headquarters, but has made many questionable decisions. We hear little these days about the ongoing GCC-Egyptian embargo of Qatar, which proved largely ineffective. Vision 2030 has thus far been more bells and whistles than real economic restructuring. His war in Yemen has been a disaster. The killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul damaged his moral standing. Qatari leadership, in contrast, is silent and staid, something investors appreciate.

Sheikh Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabia’s technocratic oil minister from 1962 to 1986, once quipped: “The Stone Age did not end for lack of stone, and the Oil Age will end long before the world runs out of oil.” Oil is far from over. The energy transition and the superiority of investing in gas, however, are encouraging signs that its heyday is passing.

Photo: Lijmiliya LNG Carrier Qatargas; Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Did you like it? 4.6/5 (23)

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

News, investigations, and analysis — our top stories every morning to start your day right.

investment Qatar Qatargas Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco
Follow on Google News Follow on X (Twitter)
Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram WhatsApp Email Copy Link
Previous ArticleSwedish study hails solar heat-storage molecule
Next Article Iran set to start uranium enrichment 
Rosemary Potter
  • X (Twitter)

Rosemary Potter is a Berlin-based journalist for Energy Reporters, covering European energy markets, cross-border policy, industry innovation, and the challenges of energy transition. A graduate of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, she combines investigative depth with a continental outlook. Her reporting amplifies the perspectives shaping Europe’s energy future across sectors, borders, and technologies. Contact: [email protected]

Keep Reading
Illustration of the Lamborghini Temerario GT3, a high-performance race car designed for GT3 racing, showcasing its advanced engineering and aerodynamic features; this is an artificial illustration.

“They Turned a Supercar Into a Missile”: Lamborghini’s New Temerario GT3 Unleashes Brutal Power and Racing Precision for 2026 Debut

Illustration of the Zeekr 9X hybrid crossover showcasing its innovative design and advanced technology, generated by artificial intelligence.

“They Laughed at Chinese Cars—Not Anymore”: New Hybrid EV Hits 621-Mile Range and 0–60 in 3.1 Seconds

Illustration of the advanced 3D printing system developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and JuggerBot 3D to integrate thermoset and thermoplastic materials, created by artificial intelligence.

“They Just Cracked the Code for Supersonic Manufacturing”: U.S. Lab Unveils Dual-Material 3D Printing to Reinvent Flight and Power

Add A Comment
Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

News, investigations, and analysis — our top stories every morning to start your day right.

Trending
Illustration of the Lamborghini Temerario GT3, a high-performance race car designed for GT3 racing, showcasing its advanced engineering and aerodynamic features; this is an artificial illustration.
“They Turned a Supercar Into a Missile”: Lamborghini’s New Temerario GT3 Unleashes Brutal Power and Racing Precision for 2026 Debut
Illustration of the Zeekr 9X hybrid crossover showcasing its innovative design and advanced technology, generated by artificial intelligence.
“They Laughed at Chinese Cars—Not Anymore”: New Hybrid EV Hits 621-Mile Range and 0–60 in 3.1 Seconds
Illustration of China producing its first barrel of natural uranium from the 'National No 1 Uranium' project in Inner Mongolia, generated by artificial intelligence.
“Unleashing a Uranium Giant”: China Triumphantly Extracts First 55-Gallon Barrel from This Massive Natural Uranium Project, Sparking Global Ripples
News by category
  • Featured
  • News
  • Use
  • Climate
  • Industry
  • Opinion
  • Policy
  • Output
  • Storage
  • Grid
Information
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Meet the Team
  • Contact Us
  • Legal Notice
  • Privacy Policy

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

News, investigations, and analysis — our top stories every morning to start your day right.

Facebook X (Twitter) RSS
© Energy-Reporters.com. All rights reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.