QatarEnergy, the state-owned company of the world’s largest LNG exporter, has announced that it is moving forward with a new LNG expansion project, the North Field West project, to increase its LNG production capacity by 85% from current levels by 2030.
The North Field West project is the third LNG expansion project that QatarEnergy is undertaking, following the North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) projects, which are already in progress. The three projects combined will raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 million tons per annum (MTPA) to 142 MTPA before the end of this decade, making Qatar the undisputed leader in the global LNG market.
The North Field West project is based on the discovery of huge additional gas quantities in the North Field, the world’s largest natural gas field, which Qatar shares with Iran. QatarEnergy has conducted extensive appraisal drilling and testing in the western sector of the field, confirming the extension of the productive layers and the presence of 240 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, as well as large quantities of condensates, liquefied petroleum gas, ethane, and helium.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the president and CEO of QatarEnergy, said in a press conference in Doha: “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. As such, the State of Qatar’s total LNG production will reach about 142 MTPA when this new expansion is completed before the end of this decade. This represents an increase of almost 85% compared to current production levels. 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.”
Al-Kaabi added that QatarEnergy will immediately commence the basic engineering works necessary to ensure that the planned progress is achieved according to the approved schedule for this new project, which will be called the North Field West project.
The North Field West project will consist of four new LNG mega trains, each with a capacity of 8 MTPA, and will be developed in partnership with international oil companies, which will be announced soon. The project will also include the construction of new offshore and onshore facilities, such as platforms, pipelines, compression stations, and LNG storage tanks.
The project will benefit from the economies of scale and the synergies with the existing and ongoing LNG projects in Qatar, as well as from the advanced technologies and best practices that QatarEnergy has adopted to optimize the efficiency and environmental performance of its operations.
The project will also contribute to Qatar’s national vision of economic diversification and sustainable development, by creating thousands of new jobs, supporting local industries, and enhancing the country’s energy security and resilience.
