The multi-billion dollar North Field expansion project will have short and long-term impacts and multiplier effects that will be reflected across all sectors of the Qatari economy and will significantly enhance the country’s revenues.
The North Field expansion will provide significant benefits for all sectors of the Qatari economy during the construction phase and beyond.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of the North Field expansion, global industry’s largest ever LNG project, which will raise Qatar’s production capacity from the current 77mn tonnes per year (mtpy) to 126mtpy by 2026.
The multi-billion dollar project’s ground breaking took place during a special ceremony at Ras Laffan Industrial City attended by local and foreign dignitaries.
The NFE project comprises the North Field East (NFE) and the North Field South (NFS) expansion projects and is the industry’s largest ever LNG project.
The project includes six mega trains, each with a production capacity of 8mtpy of LNG, four of which are part of the North Field East expansion project, and two part of the North Field South expansion project, contributing a total of 48mtpy to the global LNG supplies.
The major expansion will add 48mn tonnes per year to the global LNG supplies. It comes at a crucial time, as natural gas occupies a pivotal position in the energy mix in a world facing geopolitical turbulence and is in dire need of clean energy sources that are in line with the global environmental goals.
In addition to LNG, the project will produce 6,500 tonnes per day of ethane gas, which will be used as feedstock in the local petrochemical industries.
The project will also produce about 200,000 barrels per day of liquefied petroleum gas (propane and butane), and about 450,000 barrels per day of condensates, in addition to large quantities of helium gas and sulphur.
QatarEnergy is partnered in this global project by TotalEnergies, Shell, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Eni, Sinopec, and CNPC, whose contributions will play a pivotal role in ensuring the project’s success and achieving its goals by producing LNG that is the best in the world in terms of safety, reliability, and carbon footprint.
HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi, said the project is the largest in the history of the gas industry and the world’s best in terms of the carbon footprint.
“This project is a quantum leap in our country’s leadership in the field of energy, and an embodiment of our goals towards optimal investment in our natural resources and our commitment to providing the world with a cleaner source of energy over many decades,” al-Kaabi noted.
The project is unique in that it has been 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 NFE project is a strategic step in cementing Qatar’s position as the leading LNG producer and will play a major role in meeting the increasing global demand for LNG.
It is also in line with Qatar’s long-term vision to develop the country’s natural resources.
