Page 11 - GLNG Week 34 2021
P. 11
GLNG MIDDLE EAST GLNG
QP awards NFE EPC contract
to Tecnicas Reunidas
PROJECTS & SPAIN’S Tecnicas Reunidas announced this tpy by 2027. It is the world’s single largest LNG
COMPANIES week that it had been awarded an engineering, project.
procurement and construction (EPC) contract QP took a final investment decision (FID) on
by Qatar Petroleum (QP) under the state firm’s NFE alone earlier this year. The company had
$28.75bn North Field Expansion (NFE) project. previously relied on IOCs’ expertise – as well
Under the 41-month contract awarded by as their investments – to develop its initial liq-
QP’s Qatargas subsidiary, Tecnicas Reunidas will uefaction capacity but now has the expertise to
carry out work to expand liquid products storage go it alone. However, having partners to market
and loading at Ras Laffan Terminal. the LNG volumes produced is thought to be the
In a statement, the Spanish firm said that main driver behind Doha’s attempt to bring in
the initial scope of the onshore EPC-3 package other participants now.
includes the construction of liquid products Reports emerged around a month ago that
rundown lines, lean gas pipeline for gas deliv- QP was also in talks with state-owned Chinese Tecnicas
ery into QP’s domestic gas grid, the expansion companies including PetroChina and Sinopec
of the Ras Laffan Terminal Operations (RLTO) over equity stakes in the NFE project as China Reunidas will
product storage and loading facilities, monoeth- remains on course to become the world’s largest
ylene glycol (MEG) storage and transfer facilities LNG importer. carry out work
expansion, and CO2 sequestration pipeline and It has seen trade relations worsen with Aus-
associated facilities at CO2 injection wellheads. tralia – a major supplier of the super-chilled fuel to expand liquid
Tecnicas Reunidas said that the initial value – and Sinopec struck a 10-year supply deal with products storage
of the contract is in excess of $500mn but added QP in March, and reports of the talks signal a
that “the award also foresees several additional growing co-operation between China and Qatar and loading
options that Qatar Petroleum may execute on LNG.
within a 3-month validity period after the con- However, with the IOCs also now bidding at Ras Laffan
tract is signed”. These would see the company to participate in NFE, it seems that Qatar has
expand liquid products storage and loading “to not fully turned away from Western majors yet Terminal.
handle future expansion of two additional LNG either, despite saying recently that it would not
trains” and would “substantially increase the renew contracts with its current partners in
total amount” of work apportioned to Tecnicas the Qatargas 1 LNG plant. The current 25-year
Reunidas. JV arrangement with super-majors TotalEner-
Qatargas will oversee and implement the pro- gies (10%) and ExxonMobil (10%) as well as
ject on behalf of QP. Marubeni (7.5%) and Mitsui (7.5%), expires on
The NFE project is set to raise Qatar’s lique- December 31, and QP will assume full owner-
faction capacity from 79mn tonnes per year cur- ship on January 1, 2022, up from its current
rently to 110mn tpy by 2025 or 2026 and 126mn 65% holding.
Week 34 27•August•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11
