OTC.08 POST-SHOW REVIEW

Qatar, a hot spot for LNG

By Buddy Ives

Qatar’s commercial opportunities and investment policies were highlighted during a final day breakfast.

“The political situation in Qatar is stable with visionary leadership that has shaped a progressive economic plan,” said Robert Peaslee, regional senior commercial officer, US Department of Commerce. “Economic fundamentals are amazingly cheap with an economic growth rate in the last few years that has been tremendous.”

While oil has been Qatar’s major revenue producer, the real story today is natural gas. “By 2010, Qatar will be supplying one third of the world’s LNG,” Peaslee said. “Think about it. A country the size of Connecticut will supply one-third of the world’s LNG. The US should be taking deliveries of Qatari LNG by 2009 at the Golden Pass terminal.”

Khalid Al-Hajri, Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Robert Peaslee, US Department of Commerce

Khalid Al-Hajri, General Manager, Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pointed out that Qatar has the third-largest gas field in the world and the largest single non-associated gas field in the world, the North Field, which it shares with Iran. Additionally, Qatar has a LNG capacity of more than 30 million metric tons per year (mmty), and it expects to reach 77 mmty of LNG exports by 2010.

However, in a temporary conservation move, the government has halted any further expansion of gas production until 2010 as it assesses its plans for future exploitation of the field. In the meantime, existing fields will continue to be developed.