Qatar reveals plans to boost LNG capacity to 110m tonnes a year

Qatar Petroleum has committed to building a fourth new liquefaction train on top of three new trains already planned, boosting the country's future LNG production capacity to 110m tonnes a year.

News ID: 80221

Date: 27 September 2018 - 13:48

QATAR Petroleum, the world’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, plans to boost its output by addina fourth liquefaction train, as it aims to steal a march on its competitors, particularly emerging Australian and US exporters.

With the addition of the fourth train, the new project will produce about 32m tonnes of LNG a year, 4,000 tonnes of ethane a day, 260,000 barrels per day of condensate, and 11,000 tonnes a day of liquefied petroleum gas, in addition to approximately 20 tonnes per day of pure helium.

When the project is completed, Qatar’s LNG production capacity will be 110m tonnes per year, an increase of 43% from the current 77m tonnes a year.

In a statement, company chief Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said the new capacity increase would "further strengthen our leading position as the world's largest LNG producer and exporter."

"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,” he noted.

"When the project is completed and all four new trains are online, Qatar's LNG production capacity will reach 110m tonnes a year.”

Qatar is well-placed to compete with any other LNG supplier because it has very low LNG production costs due to the co-production of natural gas liquids from the North Field.

Last year, Qatar Petroleum revealed plans to raise the country's LNG production capacity with three new LNG mega trains. The first LNG production from the new trains will come online by the end of 2023.

At the time, there were plans to study the possibility of a fourth train, depending on market conditions.