Qatar to invest $70 billion in the Energy Sector
Posted: 09 May 2005
Qatar 's Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah has said the country's total investment in the energy sector would reach about $70 billion in five years from now.
The investments will cover the cost of drilling gas wells, liquefaction of gas and gas-to-liquids (GTL) projects and purchasing super tankers.
In addition, other projects will include investments in several terminals to turn liquefied gas into dry gas and supply it to consuming nations. In a comprehensive review of Qatar 's ambitious gas development drive, Al Attiyah said the past, present and future ambitions coupled with strenuous efforts turned those ambitions into real achievements, said a report in the Gulf Times.
He highlighted the commendable efforts of QP and other companies doing those projects, which augur for the country's energy sector. Qatar is planning to expand its petrochemicals projects to export about 4mn metric tonnes per year in future of high-density and linear low-density polyethylene, urea, ammonia and caustic soda, the energy minister said.
On the Dolphin project to provide the UAE with about 2 billion cu ft of Qatari gas per day through a sub-sea pipeline, al-Attiyah said Qatar is likely to increase the supply to 3 billion cu ft in the future. The second deputy premier said Qatar 's plans to supply natural gas to Bahrain would be achieved in the nearest possible time taking into account the deal's positive economic benefits for both the countries.
Al-Attiyah said Qatar 's petrochemicals industry has entered a new era of tangible expansion, a sign of it was witnessed in Paris last month. A number of projects costing a total of $3.1 billion were signed in the French capital that month. He said during his visit to Paris , he signed a set of agreements with three french companies. The first deal was with QP and Akrema, an offshoot of Total, for the expansion programme of Qatar Vinyl Company (QVC).
The project includes doubling the production and export of caustic soda to raise QVC's output from 350,000 tonnes to 700,000 tonnes per year. The project also aims at increasing the company's output of ethylene dichloride from 300,000 tonnes to 900,000 tonnes per year and exporting the surplus, Attiyah said. It was also agreed to step up vinyl chloride production from its current level of 375,000 annually.
Al-Attiyah said the total cost of the vinyl chloride production project stands at $500 million, an increase of 20 per cent, and noted that the project is expected to come online in mid-2009. The energy minister said QP and Technip signed in paris a letter of intent (LoI) to provide engineering, procurement and construction services to build an ethylene cracker in the Ras Laffan Industrial City .
The deal was signed on behalf of Qatar by Al Attiyah and Hamad Rashid Al Muhannadhi, director general of Qatar Petrochemical Company and of Technip by its chief executive Daniel Faloute and the participants in the project James Faloukli, Chevron Phillips (US) chief and Jane Bernard, chief of Total Petrochemicals.
Al Attiyah said the deal will provide ethylene feedstock to Q-Chem-II via a pipeline to raise its production from 450,000 tonnes per year to about 800,000 tonnes annually from high-density polyethylene. He said the total cost of the project is estimated at $3.4 billion, of which $800 million will be the cost of the ethylene plant in Ras Laffan and the remaining $2.6 billion will be the cost of each of Q-Chem II and Qatofin plant slated for Mesaieed and of ethylene feedstocking via a pipeline from Ras Laffan.
The feedstock will raise Qatofin's current production capacity of linear low-density polyethylene from 450,000 tonnes annually to about 900,000 tonnes per year. The final signature and the start of the execution stage will take place in June. Al-Attiyah said Qatar 's long drive to develop its gas resources under the directives of the Emir are now paying dividends.
" Qatar 's exports have grown now to some 19 tonnes of LNG per annum", he said. By the end of this year, this is expected to grow up to some 26 million tonnes. They are expected to grow as high as 35mn tonnes per annum in 2007 and 77mn tonnes in the beginning of the next decade, he said.
The gas liquefaction and export industry, which began as a risky business, has grown into a great attraction for investors and technology developers, al-Attiyah said. "In the beginning, there were only few partners prepared to take the risk and join the high-cost industry. But at present, we are proud of our Qatargas I, Qatargas II, Qatargas III and we expect Qatargas IV soon," he said, according to the report.
After six years from now, these four trains would process some 42mn tonnes of export-oriented LNG per annum, al-Attiyah said. RasGas also would raise the total output of both ventures to some 80mn tonnes per annum, he added. On the development plans for GTL industry, al-Attiyah said QP and Sasol will announce in early next year the start-up of producing some 34,000 barrels of green diesel, naphtha, and other GTL products.
The energy minister said the demand for clean fuels was rising steadily. Developed countries are demonstrating an increasing demand for GTL fuels and are showing keen interest in developing GTL technologies with a view to reducing its costs further. They are approaching Qatar with partnership proposals, he said.
At present, there are offers for five major world-class ventures with an estimated total value of over $22.5bn to produce some 700,000bpd of clean diesel, naphtha and other petroleum products by processing some 8bn cu ft of dry natural gas per day, the energy minister said, according to the report.
QP has agreed with Shell and ExxonMobil to produce some 300,000bpd of clean diesel, he said. Negotiations are still underway with companies such as ConocoPhillips, Marathon , Chevron, and Sasol for new GTL ventures, al-Attiyah said.
These accomplishments, including the commissioning of such successful ventures and the priceless experience gained during the process, have been attained thanks to the wise directives of HH the Emir, who accords special attention to Qatar's drive of economic progress, al-Attiyah said.
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