Italy’s Eni is the second Western company to officially join QatarEnergy’s North Field East (NFE) expansion liquefied natural gas project.

The duo signed a partnership agreement to form a new joint venture, which will hold a 12.5% interest in the entire $28.75 billion NFE project that includes four 8 million tonnes per annum liquefaction mega-trains. QatarEnergy will hold the majority 75% interest in the joint venture with Eni on 25%.

The NFE project, which will boost Qatar’s nameplate LNG capacity from 77 million tpa to 110 million tpa, is expected to come into operation before the end of 2025.