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Asif Iqbal
Doha
Qatar Petroleum on Wednesday said it is increasing the capacity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) output by an additional 10 million tonnes.
"We will be adding the fourth train to the earlier announced three trains. Once the project is completed, which is expected in early 2024, Qatar's LNG production capacity will reach 110 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), an increase of around 43 percent from its current production capacity of 77 mtpa, President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum Saad Sherida al Kaabi told reporters at a press conference.
Kaabi said the decision to raise the capacity is based on the good results obtained through recent additional appraisal and testing in the North field.
"The increase of additional LNG capacity and associated products such as condensate and LPG, will boost Qatar's total production from 4.8 million to 6.2 million barrels of equivalent of oil," Kaabi said.
He further said that with the addition of the fourth train, the new project will produce about 32 mtpa of LNG, 4,000 tonnes/day of ethane, 260,000 barrels/day of condensate, and 11,000 tonnes/day of LPG, in addition to approximately 20 tonnes per day of pure helium.
According to Kaabi this new capacity increase will further strengthen Qatar's leading position as the world's largest LNG producer and exporter, and will further boost Qatar Petroleum's growth plan."This production addition will have a great impact on Qatar's economic growth and will help stimulate our local economy,"Kaabi added.
"We believe that LNG has bright prospects, and that the new expansion project reflects Qatar Petroleum's commitment to meeting its worldwide customers' growing needs for this reliable and environmentally friendly fuel," the QP CEO said.
The North Field Expansion Project is well underway with various activities currently ongoing, including the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) of the onshore facilities, which is being executed by Chiyoda Corporation of Japan.
The engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for the offshore wellhead jackets is expected to be awarded before the end of the year, and development drilling activities are expected to commence imminently.
