New LNG facilities for Qatar

According to officials, this year Qatar is on track to start up two new giant liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, which will complete capacity expansion plans in the world's largest LNG exporter.

Qatar is targeting China and India for sales of the additional supplies, Qatargas Chief Executive Faisal al-Suwaidi told reporters at a news conference in Doha, Arabian Business states.

"China and India are the main markets for the next few years," he said. "They have huge needs."

LNG aims

Qatar aims to boost LNG capacity to 77 million tonnes per year by the end of the year. Its output currently stood at 54 million tonnes per year, Suwaidi said.

Qatargas is one of two state run companies that produce the Gulf Arab state's LNG. The other is Rasgas.

Suwaidi said that Qatargas plans to begin start-up operations at its next LNG production facility, known as a train, in June. Qatargas LNG train 6 would have capacity to chill enough natural gas to produce 7.8 million tonnes of LNG per year for export on specially designed tankers.

Trains typically take several weeks or months to start up as facilities are tested and volumes steadily increased as they come into operation.

Train 7, with equal capacity, was due to begin start up in September, Suwaidi said.

Trains 4 and 5, which started up last year, were already producing at 100 percent of capacity, Suwaidi said. The trains can also produce 7.8 million tonnes per year.

Qatargas was currently producing around 25 million tonnes per year, Suwaidi said.

Rasgas said last month it was due to start up the final train in its capacity expansion plan in 2010.

Samuel Ciszuk, IHS Global Insight's Middle East energy analyst said to Arabian Oil and Gas, "Qatar has repeatedly extended its moratorium on new gas projects, with the latest news clearly underlining its dominant train of thought that its end-2010 presence in the global gas markets will be sufficient, bearing in mind the mega-field's longevity as well as other strategic concerns."

Qatar is already the world's largest LNG producer and will have a 77 million tonnes per year capacity by late next year and even with new greenfield projects, 12 million tonnes per year could still be added through debottlenecking.

 

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