Qatar, the world's largest LNG supplier, aims to expand its LNG production from the North Field, which is the world's single largest non-associated offshore natural gas field.
The project will also raise the country’s LNG production capacity from 77 million tons annually to 110 million tons.
In addition to LNG, the project will produce condensate, LPG, ethane, sulfur and helium.
The contract covers the construction of four giant LNG production lines with a capacity of 8 million tons per year each, in addition to gas processing facilities, natural gas liquids recovery, and helium extraction and refining facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's main site for LNG and gas-to-liquid production.
It is expected to start production in the fourth quarter of 2025 and its total production plans to reach about 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The announcement came during the signing ceremony of the main engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project's onshore facilities between Qatar Petroleum and an alliance including Japan's Chiyoda Corporation and Technip Energies, with the attendance of the Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, and CEO of Chiyoda Corporation, and the President of Technip Energies.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Al-Kaabi said the project represents a milestone in Qatar Petroleum's journey in sustainable strategic growth.
"The total cost of the project reaches about $28.7 billion, which makes it one of the largest investments in the energy industry over the past few years, in addition to being the largest and most competitive LNG project ever," he said.
The project carries special importance because it comes at a time when the world is suffering from Covid-19 and its negative consequences on the world's economies, confirming Qatar's commitment to providing the world with clean energy, he added.
"The investment contains a number of environmental components that support our strong commitment to achieving the highest environmental standards and providing reliable solutions in the transition to low-carbon energy, since the carbon dioxide collection and injection system is one of the most important environmental elements of the project," Al-Kaabi explained.
Qatar Petroleum wants to secure the project's electricity needs from the national power grid similar to the Al-Kharsaa solar power plant project that will have 800 megawatts in capacity when constructed. As part of its portfolio, the company will soon construct solar energy projects to reach more than 4,000 megawatts before 2030.
In line with the low-carbon energy aim, the project includes a system to recover the gas evaporated during shipment, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 1 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.
As these evaluation activities continue, the company is assessing a further increase in LNG production capacity in excess of 126 million tons per year.
(Anadolu Agency, February 10, 2021)