- Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Total (NYSE:TOT) are lobbying Qatar to take part in the country's expansion of its gas production, Reuters reports, handing the government an unintended but timely boost in its dispute with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf neighbors.
- The CEOs of the three oil giants all recently met the emir in Qatar before the government unveiled its plan to raise liquefied natural gas output by 30%, and all expressed interest in helping achieve the country's production ambitions, according to the report.
- XOM CEO Darren Woods met the emir on June 26, discussing "cooperation" with Qatar, according to the state news agency; XOM, Shell and TOT have invested extensively in Qatar, particularly in projects to liquefy gas.
- Analysts say Qatar's LNG capacity could be raised by as much as 10M metric tons/year relatively quickly and cheaply by optimizing existing facilities and upgrading a small number of units.
- Now read: ExxonMobil: Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Place
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