DOHA: QatarEnergy is preparing to restart liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
In March, QatarEnergy halted production of LNG and associated products due to military attacks on facilities in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed.
The company has restarted two out of three trains at QELNG North 1 (Qatargas-1), one of the sources said. QELNG North 1 is Qatar’s first-ever LNG project and is located in Ras Laffan Industrial City. The facility includes three conventional liquefaction trains with a combined capacity of approximately 10 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG. A return to full production is tied to ships being able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian navy threatened ships attempting to pass through the strait without Tehran’s permission, adding that transit through the waterway remained shut, according to several shipping sources. The ceasefire has brought cautious optimism among the contractors of Qatar’s expansion projects that they could return personnel to the sites.
“Based on the situation so far, we are considering the resumption of on-site work for the LNG project in Qatar,” a spokesperson for Chiyoda said on Wednesday, as carried by Bloomberg.
