Qatar has begun construction of the Qatargas 3 and 4 liquefied natural gas projects in Ras Laffan, putting it firmly on course to hit its LNG output capacity of 77-million tonnes per year (tpy) by 2010 and positioning the Gulf emirate as major LNG supply to the US.

“When the two projects come onstream around the end of the decade, Qatar will become the world’s leading producer of LNG with a capacity of 77 million tpy,” Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah Al Attiyah said in Ras Laffan after the ground-breaking ceremony.
The two projects are expected to produce 2.8 billion cubic feet per day of gas, the majority of which is targeted for delivery to the US, Qatargas said in a statement.
“Qatargas III and Qatargas IV will be shipping most their volumes to the US,” Attiyah said. “These projects will clearly constitute an important source of natural gas for US markets at a time when US consumption of natural gas is on the rise.”
Qatargas 3, a $5 billion project, is an integrated project, jointly owned by Qatar Petroleum (68.5 per cent), ConocoPhillips (30 per cent) and Mitsui (1.5 per cent), while Qatargas IV, a $6-7 billion project, will be implemented through a joint venture between QP (70 per cent) and Shell (30 per cent).
Each project comprises upstream gas production facilities to produce come 1.4 bcm per day of natural gas, including an average of about 70,000 bpd of liquefied petroleum gas and condensate combined from Qatar’s North Field over the 25-year life of the project.
The projects will each include a 7.8-million tpy LNG train, which are Trains 6 and 7 for Qatargas.
The first LNG cargos from Qatargas 3 are expected to be delivered in 2009, Qatargas said in a statement adding that the first LNG cargos from Qatargas 4 are scheduled for around the end of the decade.
“Qatargas is supplying to Asia and will reach Europe by end of 2007 and the North American market by end of 2008,” Qatargas CEO and Vice-Chairman Faisal Al Suwaidi said.
Qatargas 3 has also completed the financing of the project with commitments for more than $2.8 billion from 26 commercial banks, including the Export-Import Bank of the US and Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the Qatargas statement said.
But financing for Qatargas 4 has not been finished, Suwaidi said. “We have still not approached the market for financing,” he said.
Qatargas 4, which has a similar debt requirement to Qatargas 3, will be the next large Qatari project to engage the international financial community and is already attracting a significant amount of interest from potential lenders, Qatargas said in a statement.
Qatargas 4 volumes are intended to flow into natural gas markets in the Eastern US.
Shell, as a sponsor of Qatargas 4, has entered into agreements with Southern LNG and Elba Express Pipeline Company LLC to acquire additional capacity at the Elba Island LNG import terminal as well as in a new natural gas pipeline, Qatargas said in a statement.