Qatar is second in the world in terms of approved LNG liquefaction capacity by market, as of end-April 2023, shows a study by International Gas Union (IGU).
In its ‘World LNG report – 2023’, IGU noted the approved LNG liquefaction capacity in Qatar (as of April this year) was 31.2mn tonnes per year (mtpy).
In this regard, only the US is ahead of Qatar with 59.1MTPY.
New LNG liquefaction capacity in Qatar is by way of the North Field expansion, which comprises North Field South (NFS) and North Field East (NFE).
Ultimately, the expansion project will boost Qatar’s LNG production capacity from the current 77MTPY to 126MTPY.
Global energy majors such as TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Shell, Eni and ConocoPhillips are QatarEnergy’s partners in the multi-billion dollar North Field expansion project, the largest LNG development in global history.
This unique project is characterised by the highest health, safety, and environmental standards, including carbon capture and sequestration, to reduce the project’s overall carbon footprint to the lowest levels possible.
The North Field expansion plan includes six LNG trains, of which four trains will be part of the North Field East and the remainder part of the North Field South project.
The North Field expansion will provide significant benefits for all sectors of the Qatari economy during the construction phase and beyond.
As of April this year, IGU noted there were some 22 markets operating LNG export facilities around the world.
The US surpassed Australia to become the market with the largest operational liquefaction capacity at 88.1MTPY. Australia’s liquefaction capacity is 87.6MTPY followed by Qatar with 77.1MTPY.
The US increased its total operational capacity to 88.1MTPY by April with Calcasieu Pass liquefaction facility (10MTPY) and Sabine Pass LNG T6 (5MTPY).
“The top three LNG export markets- US, Australia and Qatar currently represent more than half of global liquefaction capacity,” IGU said.
As of April, 178.3MTPY of liquefaction capacity is either under construction or approved for development, of which approximately 44% is in North America.
There is currently 997.1MTPY of potential liquefaction capacity in the pre-FID stage, a slight drop of 37.4MTPY compared to 2022. “With the Russia-Ukraine conflict still ongoing and a huge decline in Russian piped gas volumes being sent to Europe, a wave of proposed liquefaction projects has emerged to offset the loss of Russian supply. Some projects have also been fast-tracked to help meet demand.
“However, a fair share of pre-FID projects is unlikely to proceed due to weak economic conditions and increasingly stringent environmental restrictions on fossil fuel projects. Saying that, small-scale LNG remains a growing segment with significant potential,” IGU noted.
