LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - QatarEnergy CEO and state minister for energy Saad al-Kaabi said on Wednesday that his company will become the world's largest trader of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over the next 5-10 years.
"We are trading about 5-10 million (tonnes of LNG) now. We will be, in the next 5-10 years, the largest LNG trader in the world by far. This is ours and third-party (volumes)," Kaabi told the Energy Intelligence Forum in London.
"We started about two years ago (with trading)... I would say that the profitability of that venture is probably 20 times what I thought it could be."
Qatar's North Field expansion project will boost its position as the world's top LNG exporter and help guarantee long-term supplies of gas to Europe as the continent seeks alternatives to Russian flows.
Currently, Shell and TotalEnergies are estimated to have a combined portfolio of 110 million tonnes of the current estimate market of 400 million tonnes.
The North Field expansion plan includes six LNG trains that will ramp up its liquefaction capacity from 77 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 126 mtpa by 2027. (Reporting by Marwa Rashad and Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Louise Heavens)