QatarEnergy signs 20-year deal to buy U.S. LNG from Woodside

QatarEnergy has signed a long-term agreement with Woodside Energy to purchase up to 3 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas from the Louisiana LNG project in the United States for 20 years.

Deliveries under the Sale and Purchase Agreement are anticipated to begin in 2030 on a free-on-board basis, meaning QatarEnergy will take responsibility for the LNG after it is loaded at the export terminal.

The agreement further expands QatarEnergy’s U.S. LNG supply portfolio as it develops a more geographically diversified global trading business.

Up to 3 million tonnes of LNG per year

The LNG will come from Woodside’s Louisiana LNG project, currently under construction near Lake Charles on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The project's foundation phase consists of three LNG trains with a combined capacity of 16.5 million tonnes per annum.

Woodside is targeting first LNG from the wider project in 2029.

Under Woodside’s announcement, deliveries to QatarEnergy will begin from the start-up of Louisiana LNG Train 2, before increasing to the full contracted volume of up to 3 million tonnes per annum when Train 3 starts operations.

The 20-year supply period is expected to run from around 2030.

QatarEnergy expands U.S. LNG purchases

HE Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said the agreement would further strengthen the company's global supply and trading portfolio.

QatarEnergy said the additional volumes would make it the largest buyer of LNG from the United States.

The company said its growing portfolio of U.S. LNG purchases, alongside its Golden Pass LNG investment, supports a longer-term strategy focused on greater supply flexibility, geographic diversification and the ability to meet demand across different markets.

The agreement with Woodside follows other recent long-term U.S. LNG purchases by QatarEnergy.

Louisiana LNG under construction

Woodside Louisiana LNG is being developed as a large-scale production and export terminal in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.

While its total permitted capacity is 27.6 million tonnes per annum across a potential five trains, the currently sanctioned foundation development covers three trains with a combined capacity of 16.5 million tonnes per annum.

Woodside reported earlier this month that the project was 32% complete at the end of the third quarter of 2026 and remained on budget, with first LNG targeted for 2029.

Train 1 was 41% complete, Train 2 was 27% complete and Train 3 was 22% complete at the end of September.

Long-term LNG portfolio

The deal gives QatarEnergy access to LNG produced on the U.S. Gulf Coast rather than relying solely on volumes produced in Qatar.

That geographical diversification can provide greater flexibility in supplying customers in different international markets.

QatarEnergy said the agreement reflects its continued confidence in LNG’s long-term role in the global energy mix and its strategy to build a flexible and globally competitive LNG portfolio.

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