REVISTA DYNA ENERGÍA

This project involves the opening of two new extraction fields called North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS), due to their location in the peninsula that forms Qatar, with supply expected to begin in 2025 for a total provision in 2027. This expansion will mean a 64% increase in production capacity, from the current 77 million tons to 126 million tons, equivalent to 1.4 million barrels of oil daily. In addition to LNG, condensate, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethanol, sulfur and helium will be produced.

The new extraction facilities comprise 13 unmanned platforms with associated wells, connecting pipelines and all the necessary equipment for gas processing and loading. Contracts and start of work will be carried out during 2022.

The North Gas Fiel field has a total extractable natural gas reserve of more than 25 trillion cubic meters, considered the largest in the world, over an area of about 6,000 km2. It has been in production since 1997, although it is only now that the decision has been taken to launch the massive utilization of the reserves, after 12 years without having made any investments. Moreover, it will be accompanied by a sustainability strategy that will include using solar energy for operations, avoiding methane emissions and boosting CO2 capture and storage.

Qatar intends to participate in the transportation of produced gas and, in addition to those already contracted in China, has done so with six more gas tankers in South Korea. It is said that a total of 60 ships could be needed for this project. Will this be the solution for a reliable gas supply to Europe, making it less dependent on gas from Russia?