Qatargas 1 Ras Laffan LNG Terminal
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Qatargas 1 Ras Laffan LNG Terminal is an LNG terminal in Al Khawr, Qatar.
Location
Project details
- Operator: Qatargas Operating Company[1]
- Owner: QatarEnergy (100%)[1]
- Parent company: QatarEnergy (100%)
- Location: Ras Laffan Industrial City, Al Khawr, Qatar
- Coordinates: 25.9146, 51.5564 (exact)
- Capacity: 9.9 mtpa (3.3 mpta per train)[1][2]
- Cost: 2.3 billion USD[3]
- Trains: 3[1]
- Status: Operating
- Type: Export
- Start year:
Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day
Background
Qatargas 1 Ras Laffan LNG Terminal is an LNG terminal in Al Khawr, Qatar.[5] The Terminal is located in the city of Ras Laffan, which is Qatar's port for the production and export of LNG from the North Field, and is a gated community to over 30,000 people one hour north of Doha. Ras Laffan's citizens are employees from 54 different countries.[6]
The company Qatargas was established in 1984, not long after the discovery of the North Field.[4] Qatargas Ras Laffan LNG Terminal 1 (Qatargas 1) was built from 1994 to 1996, when its first train began operations, to produce LNG and related products.[4] The terminal has three trains, each with a production capacity of 3.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).[2] The original parent company structure was a joint venture that included Qatar Petroleum (now QatarEnergy; 65%), ExxonMobil (10%), TotalEnergies (10%), Mitsui (7.5%), and Marubeni (7.5%).[7]
Qatargas and RasGas initially operated Qatar's LNG production facilities. However, at the end of 2016 Qatar announced to merge its state-owned natural gas firms, Qatargas and RasGas into a unique global energy operator, Qatargas, in order to cut costs.[8] State-owned Qatar Petroleum (now QatarEnergy) owns a majority stake in the integrated company. A consortium including Qatar Petroleum (now QatarEnergy), ExxonMobil, Total, Mitsui, Marubeni, ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell owns Qatargas.[9] Qatargas is the largest LNG producer in the world.[10]
Media outlets reported in 2017 that the global over supply of natural gas had buyers in a good position to negotiate price. India’s state-run Petronet renegotiated price cuts with RasGas. Similarly, Poland’s PGNiG also negotiated price cuts with Qatargas.[11]
Qatargas 1 Ras Laffan LNG Terminal is estimated to generate 0.49 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) for every metric ton of LNG produced, according to a 2013 report.[12]
As of 2022, QatarEnergy (formerly Qatar Petroleum[13]) took over as sole owner of Qatargas Ras Laffan LNG Terminal 1, after deciding not to renew the joint venture among itself and four other owners.
Qatar LNG
Iran and Qatar own the South Pars/North Field, the world's largest natural gas field. This field plays a central role in Qatar and Iran's foreign and domestic policy.[14]
Qatari discovery in 1971 of its side of the South Pars/North Field coincided with its year of independence. The gas field has been instrumental in state building, sovereignty, and the primary contributor to the GDP. Natural gas also indirectly drives many foreign policy initiatives for Qatar. This includes foreign aid and education initiatives.[14]
In 1996, Qatar planned to export its natural gas to nearby GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). Qatar's natural gas export to GCC faced transit rights and pricing problems and border disputes. Qatar's exports now reach the UK, China, India and Japan.[14]
Qatar's energy policy is closely aligned to its investment policy through the national sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The investment fund reinvests oil and gas revenue in Europe and North America.[14]
The US shale gas boom since 2008 and lagging European markets stagnation have left Qatar dependent on the increasingly competitive Asian gas market for LNG customers.[15]
As of 2017, Qatar was the world's top LNG exporter. The country exports about 80 million tons a year. [16] Australia, the United States, and Qatar together accounted for almost 60% of global LNG exports in 2022.[17]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (May 24, 2022). "Annual Report 2022 Edition" (PDF). GIIGNL. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Qatargas. "Qatargas Venture Portfolio" (PDF). Qatargas. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Qatargas I LNG Plant, Ras Laffan, Qatar". Hydrocarbon Technology. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Qatargas - About Us". www.qatargas.com. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ↑ Qatargas 1 Ras Laffan LNG Terminal, A Barrel Full, accessed April 2017
- ↑ "A peek inside Qatar's 'gas capital of the world'" Business Times, February 23, 2017.
- ↑ Corporate Gas Qatargas, accessed July 2019
- ↑ Karen Thomas, "Qatargas and RasGas complete first coloading of LNG," LNG World Shipping, August 21, 2017.
- ↑ Reuters Staff, "FACTBOX-Oil majors' investments in countries involved in Qatar row," Reuters, July 5, 2017.
- ↑ Reuters Staff, "Qatar's Ras Laffan 2 condensate splitter to launch this month -sources," Reuters, October 3, 2016.
- ↑ "The five stages of LNG grief," Hellenic Shipping News, September 29, 2017.
- ↑ "BC’S Carbon Pollution Could Double with LNG Plants" Tarika Powell, Sightline Institute, June 7, 2017.
- ↑ "Qatar Petroleum becomes QatarEnergy". Offshore Technology. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Susan Kurdli, "The energy factor in the GCC crisis," Al Jazerra, July 28, 2017.
- ↑ Qatargas/RasGas LNG merger driven by need to cut costs S&P Global Platts , December, 2017.
- ↑ Diane Munro, [http://www.agsiw.org/qatar-moves-ensure-lng-dominance/ "Qatar Moves to Ensure LNG Dominance ,"] Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, April 17, 2017.
- ↑ International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (2023). "GIIGNL Annual Report 2023" (PDF). GIIGNL. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
