Qatar to Up LNG Production Capacity to 142 Million Tons Per Year by 2030, Says Minister of State for Energy Affairs

Doha, February 25 (QNA) - HE Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy Eng. Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi announced a new expansion to the North Field project to increase the production of the State of Qatar from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from 77 mt to 142 mt annually before the end of 2030. Addressing a press conference Sunday, HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs said QatarEnergy will continue to implement the new expansion in anticipation of raising the State of Qatar's production capacity from LNG to 142 million ton annually, representing nearly 85 percent of the current production levels. The extensive technical tests have confirmed that the productive layers of North Field extend towards the west, which allows developing a new LNG production project in Ras Laffan, Al Kaabi added, highlighting that QatarEnergy has focused its efforts on determining how far west the North Field's productive layers extend to evaluate the production potential from those areas with the continuation of geological and engineering studies, as well as drilling a number of appraisal wells in that area. His Excellency affirmed that he is grateful to announce today to announce that these great efforts have confirmed-through technical tests of the appraisal wells- the extension of the North Field's productive layers further towards the west, which implies the ability to produce substantial additional quantities of gas from this new sector. The studies showed that there are huge additional gas quantities in the North Field estimated at 240 trillion cubic feet, which raises the State of Qatar's gas reserves from 1,760 to more than 2,000 trillion cubic feet, and the condensates reserves from 70 to more than 80 billion barrels, in addition to large quantities of liquefied petroleum gas, ethane, and helium, His Excellency highlighted. He emphasized that these results are of paramount importance with dimensions that will take Qatar's gas industry to new horizons and enable the country to embark on developing a new LNG project from the North Field's western sector with a production capacity of about 16 Mtpa. Subsequently, the State of Qatar's total LNG production will reach about 142 Mtpa when the new expansion is completed before the end of this decade. This represents an increase of almost 85 percent compared to current production levels, His Excellency said, affirming that with the completion of this project, the State of Qatar's total hydrocarbon production will exceed 7.25 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. 

His Excellency added that QatarEnergy would usher in the basic engineering works necessary for the planned progress according to the approved schedule for the 'North Field West Project', the company's latest effort to work on implementing the various elements of the North Field production expansion project, which also includes the North Field East and the North Field South. In October, 2023, HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani laid the foundation stone for the North Field production expansion project in a bid to increase the country's gas production from 77 million tons per year to 110 million tons per year in 2026 as a first phase, and to 126 million tons per year in 2027. One of Qatar's hugest energy industry investments and the largest LNG projects over the past few years, the North Field production expansion project will bolster Qatar's national economy with huge returns in the coming decades, and its construction works along with other associated activities will significantly stimulate economy across various local sectors. The world's largest clean energy producer, the North Field now includes six giant mega-trains, four of which are part of the North Field East expansion project, and two part of the North Field South expansion project. In a related context, HE Al Kaabi revealed that QatarEnergy's recently adopted rationalization and cost-efficiency policies cut annual operating costs in the energy sector by QR 5 billion. QatarEnergy is an integrated energy company committed to the sustainable development of cleaner energy resources as part of the energy transition in the State of Qatar and beyond. It is the world leader in LNG – a cleaner, more flexible, and reliable source of energy, and an integral partner in the global energy transition, and the company's activities cover the entire spectrum of the oil and gas value chain and include the exploration, production, processing, refining, marketing, trading, and sales of energy products and commodities. (QNA)