Qatar delays LNG expansion project start-up to 2025

Qatar Petroleum has delayed the production start from its LNG export project to 2025 as it faces bidding process delays.

Speaking to Reuters, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said the size of the project remains the same. This means the production capacity, once the expansion project is complete will hit 110 million tons.

The production start has been pushed back from the initially planned 2024. However, the effects of Coronavirus are being felt by contractors expected to tackle the first phase of the North Field East project.

Qatar Petroleum expected to receive final bids from contractors for the first four liquefaction trains of the six-train expansion project during this month. Instead, it received requests from contractors seeking more time to submit bids.

As a result, final main contracts for onshore engineering, procurement and construction are expected to be awarded in the fourth quarter of this year. This will also push the expected production start by three to six months.

The additional two trains, which will be constructed in phase two of the expansion project will boost Qatar’s production capacity to 126 mtpa by 2027.