QatarEnergy to expand North Field gas output

QatarEnergy has announced plans to expand production in its North Field, the world’s largest known gas reservoir, the company announced on Sunday.

The project will increase the country’s LNG production capacity by at least 16 million tonnes per year (tpy).

In a statement, the company revealed that testing had confirmed the presence of productive layers extending towards the west of the field, containing an estimated 6.8 tcm (240 tcf) of additional gas quantities.

The announced expansion in North Field West will add to the ongoing USD 50-billion expansion projects taking place in North Field East and North Field South, which involve six mega-trains with an LNG production capacity of 8 million tpy each.

QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida Al Kaabi said that North Field West will “raise the State of Qatar’s LNG production capacity to 142 million tpy before the end of this decade. This represents an increase of almost 85% compared to current production levels.”

The company is partnering with TotalEnergies, Shell, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Eni, Sinopec and China National Petroleum Corporation for the existing works and will seek further partners for the new development, Upstream Online said in a report on Monday.

The North Field is located off the northeast shore of the Qatar peninsula. It is the world’s largest gas field and contains around 10% of the globe’s known gas reserves.