According to Oil & Gas Journal, Qatar’s proven natural gas reserves stood at approximately 890 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) as of January 1, 2009. Qatar holds almost 15 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, the world’s largest non-associated natural gas field. The North Field is a geologic extension of Iran’s South Pars field, which holds an additional 450 Tcf of recoverable natural gas reserves.

As in the oil sector, Qatar Petroleum (QP) plays a dominant role in Qatar’s natural gas sector, leading upstream production and playing an important role in downstream projects. Qatar’s focus on natural gas development tends to be large-scale projects linked to LNG exports or the promotion of downstream industries that utilize natural gas as feedstock. Therefore, foreign company involvement has favored international oil companies with the technology and experience in integrated mega-projects, including ExxonMobil, Shell, and Total.

Qatar’s LNG sector is dominated by Qatar LNG Company (Qatargas) and Ras Laffan LNG Company (RasGas). RasGas is 70 percent-owned by QP and 30 percent-owned by ExxonMobil, while the Qatargas consortium includes QP, Total, ExxonMobil, Mitsui, Marubeni, ConocoPhillips, and Shell. The LNG companies handle all upstream to downstream natural gas transportation themselves, while the Qatar Gas Transport Company (known as “Nakilat”, which means “carriers” in Arabic) is responsible for shipping Qatari LNG.

Qatar continues to expand natural gas production. In 2008, Qatar produced approximately 2.7 Tcf of natural gas, or more than five times the amount produced in 1995. The expected increase in natural gas production will fuel the growing natural gas requirements of domestic industry, LNG export commitments, piped natural gas exports through the Dolphin pipeline, and several large-scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) projects.

Qatar’s natural gas consumption in 2008 was approximately 715 billion cubic feet (Bcf).

The North Field is key to Qatar’s natural gas development and production plans. In 2005, Qatari government officials placed a moratorium on additional natural gas development projects at the North Field to allow time to study field development optimization. The moratorium did not affect projects approved or underway before the moratorium, allowing Qatar to continue its growth in natural gas production. According to FACTS Global Energy, by 2012 the North Field is expected to produce 20 Bcf/d.

During 2008, Qatar exported over 2 Tcf of natural gas, about 70 percent of which was liquefied natural gas (LNG). Qatar currently exports about 2 Bcf/d of natural gas to the UAE through the Dolphin pipeline.

Qatar is the world’s leading LNG exporter. In 2008, Qatar exported nearly 1.4 Tcf of LNG. Of this amount, approximately 425 Bcf (8.7 million tons [MMt]) went to South Korea, 400 Bcf (8.2 MMt) to Japan, 300 Bcf (6.2 MMt) to India, 165 Bcf (3.4 MMt) to Spain, and 3 Bcf (less than 0.1 MMt) to the United States.

Qatar has two major LNG operations, RasGas and Qatargas, with 11 trains online and a total LNG liquefaction capacity of 2.7 Tcf/y (53 MMt/y). Three of these trains were added in 2009. Qatargas 2, trains 4 and 5 were brought online in April and September (respectively). Combined, the trains will produce approximately 780 Bcf/y of LNG (15.6 MMt/y]), 44 million barrels per year (bbl/y) of condensate (6 MMt/y), and 12.5 million bbl/y of propane and butane (1.7 MMt/y). Rasgas 3, Train 6 was brought online in late October 2009 and has an LNG liquefaction capacity of 380 Bcf/y (7.8 million MMt/y).

RasGas 3, Train 7 is expected to come online in 2010. Qatargas 3, Train 6, with a liquefaction capacity of 390 Bcf/y of LNG (7.8 MMt/y) is planned to begin operations in 2010. Qatargas 4, Train 7, with the same liquefaction capacity, is planned to begin operations in 2011.

Qatar is the supplier for the Dolphin Project, which connects the natural gas networks of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman with the first cross-border natural gas pipeline in the Gulf Arab region. The pipeline currently exports 2 Bcf/d from Qatar, and has a capacity of 3.2 Bcf/d. Increased supplies from Qatar are uncertain until the North Field moratorium issue is resolved.

Gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology uses a refining process to turn natural gas into liquid fuels such as low-sulfur diesel and naphtha, among other products. In January 2009, industry sources reported the Oryx GTL plant (QP 51 percent, Sasol-Chevron GTL 49 percent) was fully operational, producing approximately 30,000 bbl/d of GTL. The Oryx project uses about 330 MMcf/d of natural gas feedstock from the Al Khaleej field. Depending on the resolution of the North Field moratorium, Oryx GTL may choose to expand production capacity of the plant in the future.

The Pearl GTL project (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. Currently, the plant is expected to start up at the end of 2010, followed by a ramping up of production in 2011. The Pearl project will be the first integrated GTL operation in the world, meaning it will have upstream natural gas production integrated with the onshore conversion plant.