Qatar Oil And Gas Profile

Qatar is a member of the Organization of the Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) and is a significant oil producer. The Qatari government has devoted more resources recently to the development of natural gas, particularly for export as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Though only producing LNG since 1997, Qatar is now the world’s largest supplier of LNG. Qatar is also a member and host country for the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), an organization formed in 2001 to promote the interest of the world’s major gas producers
In 2010, preliminary estimates from Qatar National Bank indicate that the oil and gas sectors accounted for over half of Qatar’s 2010 GDP. Qatar is wholly dependent on oil and natural gas for all of its primary energy consumption. Although the transportation sector continues to contribute significantly to growth in oil demand, all electricity capacity in Qatar is gas-fired. Qatar’s total primary energy consumption in 2008 surpassed one quadrillion Btu for the first time, having almost doubled since 2001. This rapid growth was driven by the similarly rapid growth of its economy.

The first well, Dukhan 1, was drilled in 1939.
1949 - The first crude exports occurred and the first offshore concessions were granted
1960 - The Idd Al-Shargi and Maydan Mahzam fields were discovered.
1970 - The largest offshore field, Bul Hanine, was discovered
1972 - Bul Hanine came onstream
1974 - Qatar Petroleum was created
1984 - Qatargas was established
1994 - Production started in the Al Shaheen Oil Field
2001 - RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) was established by Qatar Petroleum (70 per cent) and ExxonMobil (30 per cent).
2010 - Qatar's LNG production capacity reached 77 Million tpa

According to Oil & Gas Journal, as of January 1, 2011, Qatar has 25.4 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. Qatar was the sixteenth largest crude oil exporter in the world in 2009, and of the 12 Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members, ranked eleventh in crude oil exports. The onshore Dukhan field, located along the west coast of the peninsula, is the country’s oldest producing oil field, though it has been surpassed in production volumes by the offshore Al Shaheen Oil Field, which averaged about 300,000 bbl/d in 2009.
Qatar’s proven natural gas reserves stood at approximately 896 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) as of January 1, 2011.
Qatar holds almost 14 percent of total world natural gas reserves and is the third-largest in the world behind Russia and Iran. The majority of Qatar’s natural gas is located in the massive offshore North Field, which spans an area roughly equivalent to Qatar itself. Part of the world’s largest non-associated natural gas field, the North Field is a geological extension of Iran’s South Pars field, which holds an additional 450 Tcf of recoverable natural gas reserves.

Production

Qatar is the second smallest crude oil producer in OPEC, with its production exceeding only that of Ecuador. In 2009, Qatar produced approximately 1.2 million barrels per day (bbl/d) of total liquids: 830,000 bbl/d of crude and 380,000 bbl/d of non-crude liquids.
Preliminary estimates for production in 2010 indicate total production of liquids to be about 1.4 million bbl/d: 850,000 bbl/d of crude and 590 bbl/d of non-crude liquids. The country’s crude oil production capacity was estimated to be just over one million bbl/d in 2010, falling just below its condensate and natural gas liquids (NGL) production capacity for the same year.
Condensate and NGLs have risen as a proportion of Qatar’s total petroleum production over time. EIA estimates that condensate and NGL production almost doubled from 2007 to 2010, from 287,000 bbl/d to 567,000 bbl/d.

State-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP) controls all aspects of Qatar’s upstream and downstream oil sector. While QP owns and operates the onshore Dukhan field and the offshore Maydan Mahzam and Bul Hanine fields, the remaining offshore fields are operated by international oil companies via productions sharing agreements (PSAs).
Qatargas is the largest LNG producing company in the world, with an annual LNG production capacity of 42 million tonnes per annum (MTA).
RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) is a Qatari joint stock company established in 2001 by Qatar Petroleum (70 per cent) and ExxonMobil (30 per cent).

Dukhan Crude Oil is of high quality, with an API specific gravity of 40 degrees and sulfur content of 1.5%
Al-Shaheen Crude Oil is a heavy and sour crude

Qatar is the world’s leading LNG exporter. In 2009, Qatar exported nearly 1,800 Bcf of LNG. Japan, South Korea, and India were the primary destinations for Qatar’s LNG exports, accounting for about 57 percent in 2009. European markets including Belgium, the United Kingdom and Spain were also significant buyers of Qatari LNG, accounting for an additional 33 percent.
In 2011, capacity reached 77 million tons per annum
RasGas and Qatargas have 13 LNG trains currently online, with a total LNG liquefaction capacity of 3,400 Bcf/y (69.2 MMt/y).
Five of these trains were added in 2009 and 2010. RasGas III, Train 7, with a liquefaction capacity of 380 Bcf/y (7.8 MMt) of LNG began operations in February of 2010. Qatargas III, Train 6, came online in November of 2010 with the same liquefaction capacity. The 7.8 MMt train is considered a mega-train, and is currently the largest operating size in the world.

There are currently two refineries in Qatar, located in the major port cities of Umm Said and Ras Laffan
The Qatar Petroleum Refinery in Mesaieed was commissioned in 1958
The Ras Laffan Refinery, which processes Gas Condensates, was commissioned in 2009. The Ras Laffan Refinery Expansion Project aims to double the capacity of this refinery
The Al Shaheen Refinery Project, is a 250,000 bpd refinery designed to process Al Shaheen Crude Oil. It is currently on hold

Qatar is one of only three countries – South Africa, Malaysia, and Qatar – to have operational GTL facilities.
Qatar’s Oryx GTL Plant (QP 51 percent, Sasol-Chevron GTL 49 percent) came online in 2007, but due to initial problems, was not fully operational until early 2009. At full capacity, the Oryx project uses about 330 MMcf/d of natural gas feedstock from the Al Khaleej field to produce 30,000 bbl/d of GTL.
The Pearl GTL Plant (QP 51 percent, Shell 49 percent) is expected to use 1.6 Bcf/d of natural gas feedstock to produce 140,000 bbl/d of GTL products as well as 120,000 bbl/d of associated condensate and LPG.
Shell announced that the plant’s initial phase would begin operations in the first quarter of 2011, and that the second phase would come online in the first half of 2012. In addition to being the largest GTL plant in the world, the Pearl project will also be the first integrated GTL operation, meaning it will have upstream natural gas production integrated with the onshore conversion plant.

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page revision: 9, last edited: 27 Apr 2012 07:34

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