ConocoPhillips: Qatar LNG Project Not Affected by Arab Tension

ConocoPhillips said on Thursday that production and exports of liquefied natural gas (LNGLF) from an investment project in Qatar have not been affected by growing Middle East diplomatic tensions.

 

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing the country of supporting extremism. Qatar has denied the allegations.

 

Concerns have grown that global access to Qatar's LNG could be cut, especially after some Persian Gulf ports said they would not accept Qatari-flagged vessels.

 

Houston-based ConocoPhillips (COP) owns a 30 percent stake in an LNG project operated by Qatargas Operating Co Ltd, part of the state-controlled energy company. Mitsui & Co Ltd owns a remaining 1.5 percent stake in the project, which processes about 1.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day.

 

"Production and the export of LNG from our operations have not been impacted" by the diplomatic tension, ConocoPhillips spokeswoman Emma Ahmed said in a statement to Reuters.

 

The investment was worth $869 million to ConocoPhillips at the end of 2016, according to regulatory filings.

 

The U.S. company loaned $1.2 billion to develop the Qatari LNG project in 2005, with roughly $696 million still to be paid back.

 

ConocoPhillips also controls the Golden Pass LNG facility in the United States along with Exxon Mobil Corp and Qatar Petroleum.

 

None of the LNG produced in Qatar, though, is sold in the United States.

 

Shares of ConocoPhillips were down slightly to $80.86 in afternoon trading.