Qatar Signs 27-Year Gas Supply Deal with France’s Total

 FILED - 21 January 2022, Berlin: The logo of the energy company TotalEnergies is pictured at one of its gas stations in Berlin. (dpa)
FILED - 21 January 2022, Berlin: The logo of the energy company TotalEnergies is pictured at one of its gas stations in Berlin. (dpa)
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Qatar Signs 27-Year Gas Supply Deal with France’s Total

 FILED - 21 January 2022, Berlin: The logo of the energy company TotalEnergies is pictured at one of its gas stations in Berlin. (dpa)
FILED - 21 January 2022, Berlin: The logo of the energy company TotalEnergies is pictured at one of its gas stations in Berlin. (dpa)

Qatar has agreed to supply France's TotalEnergies with natural gas for 27 years, its state energy company announced on Wednesday.

Qatar will supply 3.5 million tons of gas a year under the deal, QatarEnergy said, following two agreements with Total last year for a share of the Gulf state's huge North Field gas expansion project.

"These two new agreements we have signed with our partner TotalEnergies, demonstrate our continued commitment to the European markets in general, and to the French market in particular, thus contributing to France's energy security," Qatari Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi said.

Total signed a $1.5 billion deal with QatarEnergy in September last year giving it a 9.3 percent stake in Qatar's North Field South project, the second phase of the field's expansion.

In June 2022, the French energy giant became the first partner in the first phase of the expansion, North Field East, investing more than $2 billion for a 6.25 percent total share.

Deliveries of the gas to southern France are expected to begin in 2026.

"Our commitment to ensure continued and reliable supplies of energy to Europe and the rest of the world is underpinned by our substantial and ongoing investments across the entire gas value chain," al-Kaabi, who is also chief of QatarEnergy added.

Energy security

After Moscow invaded Ukraine last year, European nations have scrambled to replace lost deliveries of natural gas following the withdrawal of Russia from the market.

Under Qatar's North Field expansion of the world's biggest natural gas field, which extends under the Gulf into Iranian territory, Qatar is set to raise its output of liquified natural gas (LNG) by 60 percent or more to 126 million tons a year by 2027.

The main market for Qatari gas has traditionally been found in Asia, led by nations like China, Japan and South Korea.

Qatar's deal with Total is equal in length to those agreed by the China National Petroleum Corporation in June and China's Sinopec in 2022, making it the third such deal, all of which have been the longest in the liquefied gas industry.

Speaking to reporters at the start of construction at the North Field expansion last week, the chairman of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, told reporters the North Field Expansion would offer energy security.

"We need more supply. That's clear. Still the market is fragile," Pouyanne said.

"This project is a major one and will give some relief to this market," he added.

Britain's Shell, Italy's ENI and US giants ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil have also signed deals to partner in the expansion.

Qatar is one of the world's top LNG producers, alongside the United States, Australia and Russia.

Qatar Energy estimates the North Field holds about 10 percent of the world's known natural gas reserves.



Gold Eases from Record Peak on Profit-taking; Trump's Tariffs in Focus

Gold bars at a gold shop in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 April 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
Gold bars at a gold shop in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 April 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
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Gold Eases from Record Peak on Profit-taking; Trump's Tariffs in Focus

Gold bars at a gold shop in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 April 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
Gold bars at a gold shop in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 April 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT

Gold dipped on Thursday as traders locked in profits after prices hit a record high, following a rush to safe-haven assets triggered by US President Donald Trump's aggressive import tariffs, which escalated the already intense global trade war.

Spot gold was down 0.4% at $3,122.1, as of 0710 GMT. Earlier in the session, bullion hit an all-time high of $3,167.57.

US gold futures fell 0.7% to $3,145.00.

Trump unveiled on Wednesday a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US, and higher duties on dozens of countries, including some of its biggest trading partners, deepening a trade war that has rattled global markets, Reuters said.

The reciprocal tariffs do not apply to certain goods, including gold, energy and "certain minerals that are not available in the US," according to a White House fact sheet.

One of the factors supporting gold was "the slowdown that tariffs are likely to cause the US economy, raising the prospects of future rate cuts," Capital.com's financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said.

The Trump administration confirmed that the 25% global car and truck tariffs will take effect on April 3, as planned, and duties on automotive parts imports will be launched on May 3.

Gold is in "a pure momentum trade, where bulls who were left for dust are agonizing on the side line, eager for even the smallest of dips, and until we see a volatile shakeout big enough to stun bulls and bears, the momentum trade could continue higher," said Matt Simpson, a senior analyst at City Index.

Gold, a hedge against political and financial instabilities, has surged more than 19% year-to-date, mainly driven by tariff jitters, rate- cut possibilities, geopolitical conflicts, and central bank buying.

"There's also some front running going on amongst traders who anticipate (Trump's) policies will drive central banks to park their reserves in gold rather than US dollar-denominated assets," Rodda said.

Market awaits US non-farm payrolls report due on Friday for clues into the Federal Reserve's policy path.

Spot silver slipped 2.8% to $33.07 an ounce, platinum fell 1.5% to $968.37, and palladium lost 1.4% to $956.50.