QatarEnergy has suspended work on the North Field Expansion after the US-Iran conflict in the Persian Gulf began on 28 February 2026, disrupting both offshore execution and onshore LNG operations linked to the project.
The suspension forms part of a broader stoppage of LNG production at Qatar’s Ras Laffan and Mesaieed industrial cities following targeted Iranian drone strikes on these facilities. The onshore processing plants were physically struck, and offshore expansion activity—drilling and platform installation—has been effectively immobilized by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have declared the waterway closed to all traffic, and most international marine insurers have canceled war risk cover for vessels in the Gulf.
The North Field is a shared reservoir with Iran, where it is known as South Pars. Intensified military activity around the shared area has led to the evacuation of non-essential personnel from offshore rigs and construction barges, further constraining offshore progress.
The expansion is structured in two offshore-to-onshore phases, both affected by the crisis. The first phase, North Field East (NFE), is the largest element and comprises four mega-trains with a total capacity of 33 million tonnes per year. It includes the drilling of about 80 new wells and the installation of eight offshore wellhead platforms. Before the conflict, NFE was about 85% complete, with startup scheduled for 4Q 2026 after an earlier mid-2026 target was internally deferred in early February 2026 due to final engineering adjustments and global supply chain bottlenecks. Current hostilities have halted the final stages of subsea pipeline laying and platform commissioning. The four mega-trains were expected to come online sequentially, reaching full operational status by mid-2028.
The second phase, North Field South (NFS), targets two additional mega-trains, adding 16 million tonnes per year. It involves five production platforms and about 50 wells, connected to the onshore complex via new subsea pipelines. NFS was at an earlier stage of offshore construction when the conflict began. Offshore compression contracts valued at about $4 billion were being executed by Saipem and McDermott before the security situation deteriorated. NFS had been targeted for a late 2027 or early 2028 in-service, with first LNG originally planned around 12 to 18 months after the first NFE train.
With operations suspended following military strikes in the region, the official timelines for the North Field expansion have become highly uncertain. There is no official new date for when NFE or NFS will resume construction or commissioning, and the halt has been described as a response to an “unprecedented” security threat. Officials say operations cannot resume until a full damage assessment of the onshore facilities is completed and the safety of the offshore shared-field area is guaranteed. Some industry analysts suggest the NFE startup could slip into 2027 if regional tensions prevent the return of international technical staff required for the final commissioning of the trains.
