Page 5 - GLNG Week 47

GLNG COMMENTARY GLNG
previous mega-trains at the complex, completed last decade before the imposition of a 12-year development moratorium at the field.
The contracting process on the NFE is well underway, with a tender for the four new LNG trains issued in mid-April to three EPC JVs: Chiyoda and TechnipFMC; JGC and Hyun- dai Engineering & Construction; and Saipem, McDermott and CTCI.
The remaining onshore packages covers two berths and infrastructure, chiefly pipelines, tying in the new components with existing facilities at the Ras Laffan complex.
QP CEO Saad al-Kaabi has said on several occasions that all the EPC contracts on the scheme will be let by the end of 2019 under a scheduleenvisagingcompletionin2023.
On April 22, QP turned to the transportation process, issuing a tender for potentially in excess of 100 LNG tankers.
Expanding further
Despite the delays, Qatar boosted its production expectations to 126mn tpy by 2027 this week, representing an increase of about 64% from current levels. Al-Kaabi said on November 25 that confirmed gas reserves at the North Field were now above 1.76 quadrillion cubic feet (50 trillion cubic metres) and 70bn barrels of condensates.
“These results will ... enable us to immediately commence the necessary engineering work for two additional LNG mega trains with a com- bined annual capacity of 16mn tpy,” al-Kaabi told a news conference in Doha.
The expansion plans come as a glut of new LNG supply on global markets is pushing prices
for the fuel down to multi-year lows. However, Qatar benefits from some of the lowest gas pro- duction costs in the world, and hopes to tap its cheap, abundant gas resources in order to retain an advantage in an increasingly competitive market. Indeed, al-Kaabi has previously said he is not concerned about the price outlook for LNG given Qatar’s status as a low-cost gas producer.
While QP has not disclosed the cost of expan- sion, it is still expected to cost dozens of billions of dollars.
“The key takeaways from al-Kaabi’s announcement are the confirmation that the North Field extends at least 12 km beneath the Qatari mainland and the somewhat untrum- peted mention of the asset’s reserves increasing to50tcmofgasand70bnbarrelsofcondensates,” Gneiss Energy’s head of media and communica- tions, Ian Simm, told NewsBase.
“The ability to produce gas from the onshore will allow Qatar to ramp up output even more quickly and cost-effectively than had previously been envisaged, hence the headline-grabbing new target. Meanwhile, the reserve numbers are staggering. North Field/South Pars is already by far the world’s largest gas deposit, but the 50 tcm figure would make the Qatari portion of the res- ervoir big enough to compete with Russia’s total gas reserves, which previously held the global top spot,” he said.
“Gas is already the key bedrock of the Qatari economy, but while Doha has a patchy recent history in terms of bringing petrochemical pro- jects to fruition, it would not be surprising to see new projects launched or scrapped schemes revisited considering the increased availability of feedstock at even lower opex,” Simm added.™
Qatar boosted
its production expectations to 126mn tpy by 2027 this week, representing an increase of about 64% from current levels.
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