(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
The ill-advised blockade against Qatar by the Saudi Arabia-led Arab-quartet (the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt) which intended to inflict significant financial and economic losses on the energy-rich country terribly failed to hinder the country's progress and overall development. As Qatar is marking the fourth year of the siege imposed on June 6, 2017, its extraordinary economic progress and continued industrial diversification itself prove that the siege failed to achieve its goals.
Qatar, under the visionary leadership, and as a result of meticulous planning and well-thought out strategy, transformed the challenges into opportunities. Today the economy has become more robust, self-sufficient almost in every sector, including the rapidly expanding energy industry. Qatar's oil and gas sector has made remarkable achievements and expansions within Qatar as well as internationally, over the last few years despite the blockade. Some of the milestones achieved by Qatar Petroleum, the state-owned energy giant, and its subsidiaries over the last one year are as follows:
This week Qatar Petroleum entered into three big agreements to reserve LNG ship construction capacity in the Republic of Korea to be utilized for Qatar Petroleum's (QP) future LNG carrier fleet requirements of over 100 units, including those for the ongoing expansion projects in the North Field and in the United States. Under the agreements, the 'Big 3 Korean shipyards - Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) - will reserve a major portion of their LNG ship construction capacity for Qatar Petroleum through the year 2027.
With the conclusion of these milestones agreements, QP has everything in place to commence the largest LNG shipbuilding programme in history. QP have secured approximately 60 percent of the global LNG shipbuilding capacity through 2027 to cater for their LNG carrier fleet requirements in the next 7-8 years, which could reach 100+ new vessels with a programme value in excess of QR70bn.
The agreements were signed by H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, and the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, in a virtual signing ceremony attended by H E Sung Yun-mo, the Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy of the Republic of Korea. Also attending were Sheikh Khalid Bin Khalifa Al Thani, CEO of Qatargas, the CEOs of the Korean shipyards, senior representatives from Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, as well as executives from Qatar Petroleum, Qatargas, and the three Korean shipyards.
On May 17, 2020, QP entered into a farm-in agreement with Total, the French energy major, to acquire a 45 percent participating interest in blocks CI-705 and CI-706, located in the Ivorian-Tano basin, offshore the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. The two blocks cover an area of approximately 3,200 square kilometers, and present multi-target hydrocarbon prospects in water depths ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 meters, 35 kilometers from shore and about 100 kilometers from nearby Foxtrot, Espoir and Baobab fields.
On May 6, QP announced to have entered into three farm-in agreements to acquire about 30 percent of Totals participating interest in blocks 15, 33 and 34 located in the Campeche basin, offshore Mexico.
QP said in a statement that each of the farm-in agreements is subject to customary regulatory and other approvals by Totals existing partners and the government of Mexico.
The three offshore blocks are situated in the Campeche basin and within 30 to 90 kilometers of the giant Cantarell and KMZ oil fields. The total area covered by the blocks is approximately 2,300 square kilometers, with water depths ranging from about 10 meters to 1,100 meters.
On April 22, Qatar Petroleum announced that it has entered into an agreement to reserve LNG ship construction capacity in China to be utilized for Qatar Petroleum's future LNG carrier fleet requirements, including those of its ongoing North Field expansion projects.
The agreement was entered into between Qatar Petroleum and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group (Hudong), a wholly owned subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC).
Pursuant to the agreement, a significant portion of Hudong's LNG ship construction capacity will be reserved for Qatar Petroleum through the year 2027.
On April 15, Qatar Petroleum made yet another big announcement to start the development drilling campaign for the North Field East Project, or NFE (previously known as the North Field Expansion Project).
The first of 80 NFE development wells was spudded on March 29 by the jack-up rig 'GulfDrill Lovanda, which is managed and operated by GulfDrill, a joint venture between the Qatar based drilling champion, Gulf Drilling International, and Seadrill Limited.
This phase of the North Field expansion project will increase Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity from 77 million tons per annum (Mtpa) to 110 Mtpa. The second phase of the North Field LNG Expansion Project, called the North Field South Project (NFS), will further increase Qatars LNG production capacity from 110 Mtpa to 126 Mtpa.
Qatar Petroleum had earlier awarded a number of contracts for jack-up drilling rigs to be utilized for the drilling of 80 development wells for the NFE. The installation of the first four Offshore Jackets in Qatari waters is underway and is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
On February 13, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, and President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, H E Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, had expressed Qatar Petroleum's solidarity with its counterparts in China as part of its government's efforts to contain the coronavirus and to alleviate its impact on the population and the economy.
Early this year on January 5, Qatar Petroleum and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) entered into a long term Sale and Purchase Agreement for the supply of up to 3 million tonnes per annum of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Kuwait. Under the 15-year agreement, LNG deliveries to Kuwait's new LNG receiving terminal at Al Zour Port will commence in 2022 to support meeting Kuwait's growing energy needs and demand, particularly in the power generation sector.
The agreement reinforces the solid brotherly relationship between Kuwait and Qatar and further strengthens the ties between Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and Qatar Petroleum.
On November 25, 2019, Qatar Petroleum announced that it will further raise Qatar's LNG production capacity to 126 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2027, representing an increase of 64 percent from the current 77 mtpa. It is worth mentioning that the latest North Field appraisal well (NF-12) was drilled onshore in the Ras Laffan Industrial City, about 12 kilometers from shore and underwent extensive testing over the past few months.
Minister Al Kaabi also announced that the confirmed gas reserves of the North Field exceed 1,760 trillion cubic feet, in addition to more than 70 billion barrels of condensates, and massive quantities of LPG, ethane, and helium. The Minister said: 'These are very important findings, which will have a great positive impact on Qatar's gas industry, and which will move it forward into bigger and wider horizons. These results will also enable us to immediately commence the necessary engineering work for two additional LNG mega trains with a combined annual capacity of 16 million tonnes per annum. This will raise Qatar's LNG production from currently 77 million tonns to 126 million tons per annum by 2027, representing an increase of about 64 percent. It will also raise Qatar's overall hydrocarbon production to about 6.7 million barrels oil equivalent per day.
On November 19, 2019, Qatar Petroleum announced the successful start-up of the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) Refinery project located in Mostorod, north of the Egyptian capital Cairo. QP owns 38.1 percent in the Arabian Refinery Company, which in turn owns 66.6 percent in ERC.
The successful startup of the ERC refinery has further strengthened Qatar Petroleum's international downstream footprint through this vital project, which is its largest investment in an Arab country as well as in Africa. The refinery project will support Egypt's plans to increase the resilience of its domestic hydrocarbon supply chain and reduce dependence on imports.
Qatar Petroleum has participated in this project since 2012, which has cost $4.4bn with the aim to process around 4.7 million tonnes per annum of mainly atmospheric residue feed from the adjacent Cairo Oil Refinery Company. It will mainly produce Euro V refined products (such as diesel and jet fuel), which are intended for consumption primarily in Cairo and surrounding areas.
On October 8, 2019 Qatar Petroleum commissioned a carbon capture and storage plant which aims to sequester 5 million tonnes of carbon from its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities by 2025. On February 10, 2020 Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) announced the signing of a new, long-term Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Shell to deliver 1 million tonnes per annum of LNG to Kuwait, commencing this year. The SPA provides for the supply of LNG from Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited (4) (Qatargas 4), a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum (70 percent) and Shell (30 percent).
On February 5, Qatargas achieved a major milestone with its North Field Bravo (NFB) Living Quarters Expansion (LQX) Project as it safely and successfully completed the onshore fabrication of the living quarters structure by Nakilat-Keppel Offshore Marine (N-KOM) at the Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard. The project is significant for Qatar as it is for the first time that a major offshore living quarters structure has been entirely fabricated at a local yard in the country.
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