 | |
| Industry | Oil and gas |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Liquefied natural gas |
| Parent | QatarEnergy |
| Website | qatarenergylng |
QatarEnergy LNG, formerlyQatargas, is the world's largestliquefied natural gas (LNG) company. It produces and supplies the globe with 77 millionmetric tonnes of LNG annually from across its seven ventures—QatarEnergy LNG N(1), QatarEnergy LNG N(2), QatarEnergy LNG N(3), QatarEnergy LNG N(4),[1] RL1, RL2 and RL3.[2] It is headquartered inDoha,Qatar, and maintains its upstream assets inRas Laffan, Qatar. Natural gas is supplied to the company'sLNG trains from Qatar'sNorth Field, by far the world's largest non-associated gas field. It reached a record LNG production of 77 million tonnes per year in December 2010.[3] According to Brand Finance, QatarEnergy LNG is the world's fastest growing oil and gas brand in 2023.
QatarEnergy LNG was established in 1984 as Qatargas (Qatargas Liquefied Gas Company Limited), a joint venture betweenQatarEnergy,ExxonMobil and other partners. In the following years the company began developing theNorth Field and erected the first threeLNG trains (Train 1, 2 and 3) with a design capacity of 3.3 million tonnes per year each. The trains were built in 1996, 1997 and 1998 respectively.[4][5]
The company executed the first two major sales and purchase agreements with eight Japanese customers in 1992 and 1994, the companyChubu Electric Power being the largest.[4][5][6][7] The contract guaranteed the delivery of 4 million tonnes ofLNG per year to Chubu Electric and six million tonnes per year over a 25-year period for the eight customers.[4][6]
In 1993Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company was established as a subsidiary for the operation and maintenance of LNG andHelium production, and also operates as a subsidiary of QatarEnergy, based inDoha.[8] The official foundation stone for Qatargas 1 was laid in 1994 and in 1995 another major contract with theKorea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) was signed, guaranteeing the supply of 2.4 million tonnes of LNG per year. Also, in 1995, the first offshore drilling operations were begun.[5] In 1996 LNG production began.[5] The firstLNG carrier namedAl Zubara was delivered to Qatargas in 1996. The first shipment of LNG was loaded and delivered to Japan in 1996 and Spain (Enagás) in 1997 fromRas Laffan Industrial City's port.[6] In the same year, 1997, the then EmirHamad bin Khalifa Al Thani inaugurated the Qatargas 1 LNG plant and facilities and the first sulfur plant launched operation (Sulfur Plant 1). 2000 marked 10 million tonnes of LNG delivered toJapan since shipment commencement in 1996.
Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company II (RL II) andRasGas Company Ltd. were established in 2001 to operate the LNG trains and associated facilities, also located inRas Laffan Industrial City. In the same year a 25-year contract withEdison Gas was signed.[5] In 2002 a contract was signed withBP, for the delivery of 750,000 tonnes of LNG per year to Spain. The first shipment was scheduled for the third quarter of 2003 and theBritish Merchant, a BP-operated LNG vessel, was assigned to carry shipments over a three-year period.[6] In the same year QatarEnergy signed an agreement withExxonMobil for the construction of two additional LNG trains (Train 4 and 5), forming the "Qatargas 2" joint-venture. Exxon and other partners invested around $12.8 billion into the joint-venture. The foundation stone was laid in February 2005.[9][10][11]
In 2003, a joint venture for the Ras Laffan helium project was formed. It produced the first helium in August 2005.[12] Qatargas 3 was formed in the same year between QatarEnergy andConocoPhillips. Another Head of Agreement between QatarEnergy and RL (II) to supply 15.6 Mta of LNG to theUSA was signed in 2003. RasGas also began to build and operate the first phase of theAl Khaleej Gas project ("AK-1" or "AKG-1") fordomestic gas supply on behalf of QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil Middle East Gas Marketing. In 2004 the first dedicated LNG vesselFuwairit was delivered to RL (II),[13] and in 2005 AK-1 was inaugurated and started, as well as Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (III) (RLIII) established, which owns RasGas' trains 6 and 7, the company's first mega-trains. Another agreement betweenShell and Qatargas was made to erect Qatargas 4 ("QG4").[14]
Qatargas Operating Company Limited was formed in July 2005 for the purpose of constructions of Qatargas 2, Qatargas 3, Qatargas 4, Laffan Refinery and other assets on behalf of the shareholders.[5] Qatargas also announced a moratorium on further development of the North Field in 2005, and ordered further studies and a review of the field, which were expected to end in 2010. The moratorium was initially expected to remain in place until 2013 or 2014 but was lifted in 2017.[15][16] In 2006 the construction for QG3 and QG4 started and RasGas' Train 5 was erected. The train was inaugurated in 2007 as well as the first Q-MaxLNG carrier "Al Dafna" floated out of itsdry dock (delivered in 2009) and the first Q-Flex ship delivered to Qatargas.[17]
In 2008 two major SPAs were signed withPetroChina, for 3 million tonnes per year over 25-years, and 2 million tonnes per year over 25 years withChina National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) with the deal totaling around 2 million tonnes per year. It was to begin in October 2009.[18][19][20] Another 10-year contract was signed between Qatargas and TT, ordering 1 million tons of LNG a year, starting in 2011.[21]Ras Laffan Helium 1 reached its full production capacity in 2008 and the first LNG shipment to the west coast ofNorth America was completed. As well the firstQ-Flex vessel transited theSuez Canal.
Several other LNG deliveries to Italy (Adriatic LNG), Mexico (Altamira), China (CNOOC), Canada (Canaport LNG), the United Kingdom (South Hook) and the United States (Golden Pass) followed in 2009 and new SPAs were signed, like the long-term SPA withPGNiG of Poland. The SPA detailed 1 million tonnes per year over 20 years, with the first delivery being made in 2015.[22][23][15][24] On April 6, 2009, the Qatargas 2 project was officially inaugurated with two mega trains of 7.8 million tonnes per year each. That same year phase 2 of theAl Khaleej Gas project was launched.[25]
Following theinternational economic crisis and the downturn of gas and oil prices in 2008, Qatargas temporarily had to declareforce majeure in January 2009 on production of threeLNG trains. The company remained on track with its other projects and its general direction.[26] In November 2010 and January 2011, respectively, qatargas 3 and 4 started production.[27] In December 2010, Qatar celebrated achieving the national goal of 77 million tonnes per year for the first time, making it the world's largest LNG producer.[28]
Because of the major advances in oil- and gas extracting techniques (shale - ortight gas from rock,oil sands) Qatargas had to make adjustments in its corporate strategy.[29][30][31]
Whilst the company initially aimed at European customers and the United States, the increasing production fromNorth America made it necessary focus onAsian markets,[29][30][31][32] with Japan currently importing around 15% of its total gas consumption from Qatargas, and China, India and South Korea being other major customers.[33][34][35]
In 2010 theRas Laffan Helium 2 project was also announced, Train 6 began production (adding 7.8 million tonnes per year) and theLaffan Refinery was inaugurated by Al-Thani.Another deal with Respol (Canada) was signed in the same year. Qatargas agreed to deliver the LNG to Canaport using bothQ-Flex andQ-Max vessels, each holding the equivalent of approximately 5.6 and 4.6 billioncubic feet of natural gas, respectively.[36][37] Further major deliveries were made to Dubai and France and in 2010 further talks with the United Kingdom were initiated and a Heads on Agreement was signed. In June 2011 Qatargas then signed a three-year LNG deal withCentrica (UK), valued at around $3.24 billion at the time. The contract has since then been extended to a four-and-a-half-year contract in June 2014 and the latest contract extending the partnership until December 2023. Centrica had originally tried to seal a 20-year contract.[38][39][40][41][42][43][44]
In 2010,Sheikh Khalid Bin Khalifa Al Thani was appointed CEO for the new Qatargas.[45][46]
Qatargas also signed a long-term agreement in 2011 for over 1 million tonnes per year with Malaysia'sPetronas, expiring in 2018, which has since been extended until December 2023.[47][48] Qatargas' Train 7 began production in 2011 (7.8 million tonnes per year) and theMap Ta Phut LNG Terminal was commissioned by Qatargas that same year. In the following year, 2012, Qatargas 1 signed a long-term contract withTokyo Electric Power Company for over 1 million tonnes per year of LNG.[49]Qatargas 3 signed SPAs with PTT of Thailand, Japan's Kanasai andChubu Electric Power in 2012.[50][51]
In 2013 the Ras Laffan Helium 2 plant was inaugurated and produced its firsthelium that same year. The plant is the largest of its kind in the world and made Qatar the world's largest helium exporter.[12][52][53]In 2014 the construction for Laffan Refinery 2 began and the refinery delivered the firstDieselHydrotreater (DHT). The Procurement and Construction contract (EPC) for the DHT withSamsung Engineering had been signed in 2012. The DHT is able to process 54,000 barrels (8,600 m3) per stream day ofultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel and was operated at 50% capacity until the Laffan Refinery 2 began production in 2016.[54][55] The first ship-to-ship transfer (STS) of LNG, following an incident with one of Qatargas' leased vessels in the straights ofSingapore, was carried out in 2014.[56][57] Also, in 2014, Qatargas announced the successful start-up of the JettyBoil-off Gas Recovery Project, which aimed to reduceflaring at the Ras Laffan LNG loading berths and was inaugurated in 2015.
2015 saw the 5000th LNG cargo loaded atRas Laffan Port, 2300 of them having been shipped to Japanese customers, as well as the sale of the first LNG to theKingdom of Jordan and the first delivery of LNG toPakistan State Oil Company made in 2016. The 10,000 LNG vessel was loaded at Ras Laffan Port in 2016 and the Laffan Refinery 2 started operations with a refining capacity of 146,000 barrels ofcondensate per day. It was officially inaugurated by Al-Thani in 2017. In June 2017 Qatargas had to shut down operations ofHelium 1 and Helium 2, due to the economic boycott, which was imposed on Qatar by otherArab States.[58] Following other major companies likeARAMCO, the preparation and integration of the merger of state-owned companies Qatargas and RasGas, which had been announced in December 2016, was completed in 2017.[59][60][61] Qatargas delivered 1.5 million tonnes per year and signed a new SPA with Turkey's Boas, to deliver 1.5 million tonnes per year ofLNG for three years, beginning in October 2017. Another deal withRoyal Dutch Shell to deliver up to 1.1 million tonnes per year of LNG for five years was also signed as well.[62]
It aimed to "[…] create a truly unique global energy operator in terms of size, service and reliability" and to "[…] confirm and restrengthen QatarEnergy's superiority in the LNG business [by] reducing operating costs", stated the QatarEnergy's president and CEOSaad al-Kaabi.[59][63][64] The merger of Qatargas and RasGas became operative on 1 January 2018, marking the beginning for a "new" Qatargas and securing its rank as largestLNG producer worldwide.[65]Al-Kaabi gave a press conference on 4 January 2018,[45] stating that the new company would save around $550 million in operating costs per year.[66][67]
In July 2021, the first delivery of LNG with aQ-Max carrier was made by Qatargas to theKrk LNG terminal inCroatia. This was the first time that Qatargas used the large vessel to deliver 260,000 cubic meters of LNG to a customer.[68] It also delivered its first LNG on aQ-Flex carrier for the Al-Zour LNG receiving terminal in Kuwaits commission.[69]
In August 2021, Qatargas announced the completion of the WHP12N platform jacket for the North Field Production Sustainability (NFPS) project. The drilling support structure is the first to ever be built in Qatar for Qatargas and it was celebrated on the Qcon yard where it was fabricated.[70]
The CommonSulfur Plant (CSP) located in Ras Laffan achieved 10,000 tonnes of produced sulfur per day starting in September 2021.[71][72]
In October 2021, Shell Qatar presented Qatargas with the Reliable Asset Award for 2020 and the beginning of 2021.[73][74]
In November 2021, a project to buildcarbon dioxide sequestration facilities at Ras Laffan was announced and would be led by Qatargas along with Axens. The companies TEG technology was the reasoning for the selection of Axens.[75]
Qatargas hosted the 17th Engineering Forum in December 2021, which was attended to by over 400 experts in the field of engineering in the gas and oil industries.[76]
In January 2022, the Laffan Refinery was visited by a team from ExxonMobil Qatar and presented the facility with an award for outstanding safety performance, with has gone seven years without an injury.[77]
Qatargas purchased 10LNG steam-turbine carriers from various Japanese shipowners. The purchase came about in January 2022 after the charter contracts came to an end and the option to purchase the vessels was possible.[78][79]
Qatargas made deals withBangladesh in March 2022 to begin supplying LNG again during the summer while reducing the winter deliveries.[80]
In June 2023, Qatargas completed the pre-qualification list for the major contract for all necessary engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) requirements for the compression facilities of its North Field Production Sustainability (NFPS) project.[81][82] In July, Qatargas awardedMcDermott the EPCI for the NFPS Offshore Fuel Gas Pipeline and the Subsea Cables Project (COMP1), which includes the installation ofsubsea pipelines, subseacomposite cables,fiber optic cables and onshore pipelines.[83][84]
In August 2023, Qatar agreed to supplyHungary withLNG starting in 2027.[85]MVM started talks with Qatargas about quantity, pace and shipment.[86][87]
In September 2023, Qatargas changed its name to QatarEnergy LNG.[88][89]
QatarEnergy LNG signed a deal withPetroVietnam Gas for 70,000 tons of LNG to be delivered in April 2024 to its Thi Via LNG terminal.[90]
The shareholders of the QatarEnergy LNG N(1)[1] areQatarEnergy,ExxonMobil,TotalEnergies,Mitsui andMarubeni. It owns threeLNG trains. In 2008, it produced 10.09 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas.[91] The projected production for the end of 2012 was 42 million tonnes per year.
QatarEnergy LNG N(2), a joint venture of QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil, owns LNG trains 4 and 5 with a capacity of 7.8 million tonnes per year each. It is supplying LNG for theSouth Hook LNG terminal atMilford Haven,Pembrokeshire,Wales, from where gas is fed to theSouth Wales Gas Pipeline. This covers 20% of the United Kingdom's needs of LNG.
QatarEnergy LNG N(3) is a joint venture between QatarEnergy,ConocoPhillips and Mitsui. QatarEnergy LNG N(4) is a joint venture between QatarEnergy andShell.[92] At first approached as separate projects, QatarEnergy LNG N(3) and N(4) are now being built by a joint asset development team that is staffed by QatarEnergy LNG, ConocoPhillips and Shell employees as well as project direct hires and short term contractors.[93] Its trains have started up by end 2010 (N(3)) and early 2011 (N(4)).[94]
QatarEnergy LNG's offshore operations are located approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) northeast of Qatar's mainland on theNorth Field. The production facilities were commissioned in 1996. Processed gas is transferred to shore with the associated condensate via a single 32 inches (810 mm) subsea pipeline.
QatarEnergy LNG transports its LNG by using two classes of LNG tankers known asQ-Max andQ-Flex.[95]
At present QatarEnergy is spending almost $30bn in expanding its North Field, to raise its annual production capacity from 77m tonnes of LNG to 110m by 2025. A second phase is expected to increase it to 126m tonnes by 2027.[96][97] In March 2024, the first three modules for the Field were completed and leftSaipem’s fabrication yard.[98]
Since 2007 QatarEnergy LNG has relocated over 7,500 livecorals from nearshore pipelines to protected offshore areas. Additionally they have deployed over 400 artificial reef modules around Qatar. The Coral Management Programme (CMP) was implemented to sustain and preservemarine biodiversity around Qatar. It is a joint initiative from QatarEnergy LNG, theMinistry of Municipality and Environment (MME) andQatar University which began in 2021 and is part of the Environment Developmental Pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030. The CMP consists of an Artificial Reef Deployment and Coral Relocation and aCoral Nursery located at the Aquatic Fisheries Research Center (AFRC) inRas Matbakh and it is an alleviation for the North Field Production Sustainability (NFPS) Project. Its implementation is in four phases, first finding a suitable location, second is building an artificial reef to deploy, third is the relocation of the live coral reef to the location from phase one, then finally phase four is to report and monitor the success and response from marine life in the location.[99][100][101]
25°54′34″N51°33′11″E / 25.90944°N 51.55306°E /25.90944; 51.55306
