LNG expansion projects designed to meet cleaner energy demands

Qatar will be doubling its LNG production in a few years with the operation of North Field development projects and commencement of production at QatarEnergy’s LNG project in Texas in the United States.The country’s LNG expansion projects at Qatar’s offshore North Field, the world’s largest non-associated gas field, are moving ahead on track towards an increased production capacity of 142mn tonnes per year.Qatar’s LNG expansion projects are designed to help meet growing demand for cleaner energy driven by economic growth and rising populations and living standards.With global demand soaring for natural gas, which is considered the cleanest among fossil fuels, the country expects to sign more long-term natural gas supply deals this year.This was revealed by HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi at the recently concluded Qatar Economic Forum in Doha."There will be further expansions to Qatar’s LNG production capacity. The technical capability of doing more in Qatar is going to be assessed in the future and, if there is more, we probably will do more,” he said.The minister noted: "With 18mn tonnes per year coming from our LNG project in Texas, Qatar will be doubling its LNG production capacity in the next few years.”He said: "North Field East and South are on track...we are in the construction phase as we speak. All the construction (activities) are going very well.”The rising global demand for cleaner energy is evident from the G7 countries recently pitching in for liquefied natural gas, a clear change in their declared position of moving away from fossil fuels.Al-Kaabi, who is also the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, stressed that LNG will remain in demand for a very long time, adding "LNG is not going away any anytime soon. I don’t think there is a problem of selling LNG. Everybody is buying LNG, it is just agreeing on terms and conditions and pricing...but I think there’s a huge demand out there, whether it’s from Asia or Europe.”Clearly, Qatar is very bullish about global LNG demand in view of the rising population and expected growth in economies around the world.The global population is expected to increase by up to 2bn in the next 30 years or so.This means the world will need more energy, more power, and even more petrochemicals for materials we use every day."We also need to be fair to that population and make sure they have access to reasonably priced power,” al-Kaabi noted.Recent studies have shown that the North Field contains huge additional gas quantities in the North Field estimated at 240tn cubic feet, which raises Qatar’s gas reserves from 1,760tn cubic feet to more than 2,000tn cubic feet, and the condensates reserves from 70 to more than 80bn barrels, in addition to large quantities of liquefied petroleum gas, ethane, and helium.Undoubtedly, the country’s LNG projects underscore QatarEnergy’s commitment to reinforce its global leadership in the production and supply of LNG and live up to its commitment to provide an economic, safe and reliable energy source, giving priority to environmental sustainability for a more prosperous and brighter future.