Qatar to boost LNG production to 142 mtpa by 2030

By Handan Kazanci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Qatar announced on Sunday that it will raise the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity to 142 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) before the end of this decade, boosting production by close to 85% from current levels.

The extensive drilling confirmed at the Gulf nation's giant North Field’s productive layers stretch further west, allowing for the development of a new LNG production project in Ras Laffan, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Qatari energy minister and CEO of state-owned QatarEnergy, said in a press conference in Doha.

“QatarEnergy has focused its efforts and attention on determining how far west the North Field’s productive layers extend in order to evaluate the production potential from those areas,” Al-Kaabi said, according to a statement from the company.

The project is called “North Field West,” he added.

Noting the presence of huge additional gas quantities in the North Field estimated at 240 trillion cubic feet, Al-Kaabi said this raises Qatar’s gas reserves from 1,760 trillion cubic feet to more than 2,000 trillion cubic feet and the condensates reserves from 70 billion barrels to more than 80 billion barrels, in addition to large quantities of liquefied petroleum gas, ethane, and helium.

“These are very important results of great dimensions that will take Qatar’s gas industry to new horizons, as they will enable us to begin developing a new LNG project from the North Field’s western sector with a production capacity of about 16 mtpa,” he said.

“Qatar's total LNG production will reach about 142 mtpa when this new expansion is completed before the end of this decade,” he said.

“This represents an increase of almost 85% compared to current production levels,” he explained. “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.”

The announcement by Qatar, among the world’s top LNG suppliers, came after US President Joe Biden announced the administration’s decision on Jan. 26 to temporarily pause all pending approvals of LNG exports amid climate change concerns.