Qatargas Announces Two Additional LNG Production Trains in the Middle East

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Qatar Liquefied Natural Gas Company (Qatargas) (Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar) is planning to construct two of the world's largest natural gas liquefaction trains in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar. The new trains numbered four (PEC 98890084) and five (PEC 98890085) will each have a capacity to produce 7.5 million metric tons per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and will effectively double the LNG production capacity of Qatargas.

The new trains will source their gas from Qatar's prolific North Field with proven natural gas reserves of just over 900 trillion cubic feet. Qatargas expects to begin construction on train four of its Qatargas II complex in mid-2005 with completion targeted for late 2007. Train five will begin construction in mid-2006 with completion in 2008. Each LNG train is expected to cost nearly $2 billion a piece.

The new LNG capacity will supply several LNG receiving terminals being planned by ExxonMobil in the UK & Italy as well as terminals being planned on the Gulf Coast of the US. Qatargas is a joint venture of Qatar Petroleum (Doha, Qatar) with sixty-five percent ownership and ExxonMobil (Irving, Texas) (NYSE:XOM) holding ten percent. The remaining shareholders are Totalfinaelf with ten percent and Mitsui & Marubeni, each holding 7.5 percent. ExxonMobil's portion of the total investment represents a small part of the companies $25 billion global LNG investment scheme.