[ad_1]
QatarEnergy has officially started construction of the North Field expansion project, which will increase Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity from 77 million tons per annum (mtpa) to 126 mtpa by 2026.
The project’s groundbreaking ceremony at Ras Laffan Industrial City was attended by Qatar Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who laid the foundation stone for the project, QatarEnergy said in a news release Monday.
The first phase of the North Field expansion project will increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity to 110 mtpa, while the second phase, called the North Field South Project (NFS), will further increase the country’s LNG production capacity from 110 Mtpa to 126 Mtpa. The project includes six mega trains, each with a production capacity of eight mtpa of LNG, four of which are part of the North Field East expansion project, and two are part of the North Field South expansion project, contributing a total of 48 mtpa to global LNG supplies, according to the release.
In addition to LNG, the project will produce 6,500 tons per day of ethane gas, which will be used as a feedstock in the local petrochemical industries. The project will also produce about 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of liquefied petroleum gas (propane and butane), and about 450,000 bpd of condensates, in addition to large quantities of helium and pure sulfur, the release said.
“On the local level, this project will have short- and long-term impacts that will be reflected across all sectors of the Qatari economy and will significantly enhance the State’s revenues”, Qatar Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy President and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said. “This major expansion comes at a crucial time, as natural gas occupies a pivotal position in the energy mix in a world facing geopolitical turbulences and is in dire need of clean energy sources that are in line with the global environmental goals”.
“There is no doubt that these additional quantities of natural gas are of great importance as they will play a prominent role in enhancing energy security, supporting a practical and realistic energy transition, and ensuring fair and equitable access to cleaner energy for a sustainable growth and a better future for all”, Al-Kaabi added.
According to the release, the project partners include TotalEnergies, Shell, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Eni, Sinopec, and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
Last week, QatarEnergy announced an agreement with Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the construction of 17 ultramodern liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. The deal is valued at $3.79 billion (SAR 14.2 billion), and marks the start of the second phase of the company’s LNG ship acquisition program, which will support its expanding LNG production capacity from the North Field LNG expansion and Golden Pass LNG export projects near Sabine Pass, Texas, as well as its long-term fleet replacement requirements.
QatarEnergy and its affiliates are now expecting 77 new confirmed LNG vessels to be delivered, which includes the 60 ships contracted by the company in the first phase of its acquisition program. The 60 ships will be built at Korean and Chinese shipyards, the company said in an earlier news release, adding that it expects more to come.
In July, QatarEnergy announced a long-term condensate supply agreement with the Dubai-based ENOC Group. Under the 10-year sales agreement, QatarEnergy will supply up to 120 million barrels of condensates to ENOC. The deal was by QatarEnergy, for and on behalf of Qatar Petroleum for the Sale of Petroleum Products Company Ltd., and ENOC Supply & Trading LLC, a subsidiary of ENOC.
The terms of the agreement allow the parties to further increase the condensate volumes, as additional condensate volume is expected to be exported from Qatar once the North Field East and North Field South expansion projects come online.
To contact the author, email rocky.teodoro@rigzone.com
[ad_2]
Source link