Ras Laffan 3 LNG train 7 goes onstream

"We have commenced production from train 7. It is excellent news for RasGas and its shareholders," Al Mohannadi told reporters.

Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (3) ( Ras Laffan 3) is a joint venture between is Qatar Petroleum (70 percent) and ExxonMobil (30 percent). The project represents another expansion of LNG production facilities operated by RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) .

With 7.8 million tonnes per year of LNG, the Ras Laffan 3 train 7 matches the capacity of Ras Laffan 3 train 6, one of the largest operating LNG production facilities in the world, inaugurated in October 2009. These mega facilities have sufficient scale to competitively reach markets around the globe.

This significant achievement is the culmination of a huge long-term development project that involved major offshore and onshore construction, subsurface drilling and engineering works. RasGas train 7 will boost the overall LNG production capacity of all RasGas companies to approximately 36.3mta.

Al Mohannadi said production from train 7 will be ramped up, adding that the first shipment from the train is expected soon, without elaborating.

Train 7 is one of a new generation of 'mega-trains', a big step up from the 4.7mta production capacity of RasGas trains 3, 4 and 5.

"Train 7 is a clear demonstration of RasGas ' confidence and ambition," said Al Mohannadi. "These mega facilities are the embodiment of a bold investment and the culmination of years of technological development and preparation."

Train 7 builds on the success of existing RasGas expansion projects in terms of technology, design and project specifications as well as continuous improvement. As a result is the innovative approach used to significantly reduce the amount of gas typically consumed or flared during the start-up of such a large and complex gas facility.

Khalid Sultan Al Kuwari, Marketing Executive at RasGas said "Train 7 will feed into our portfolio of customers. We will be targeting particularly US, Europe and Asian markets."

Asked whether there are plans for long-term contracts in South America, he said "We did sell cargos to Chili on spot basis and we always look at opportunities to further develop that relationship."

"Our contracts are based on long-term so all our capacity is committed to long-term. We have some flexibility under some contracts to go for spot markets when there is a need in the market and when there is an opportunity for us," he said.

Speaking about the dynamics of the global LNG market, he said that even in the future the backbone of LNG will still remain the long-term agreements, but that there will also be more reliance on spots, short-term and medium-term contracts though the main bulk will still be the long-term contracts.

RasGas has emerged as a leading player in the global natural gas industry, supplying and delivering LNG to a broad portfolio of international customers, with a fleet of long-term chartered LNG tankers. The fleet currently comprises 27 vessels, including 14 conventional LNG vessels, 12 Q-Flex vessels and one Q-Max vessel.