DOHA: The world's first fully integrated value chain liquefied natural gas (LNG) venture, Qatargas 2 will be formally inaugurated on April 6 this year by the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The LNG shipment from the Qatargas 2 project's 15.6 mt per annum would go to the South Hook receiving terminal in the UK which has a re-gasification capacity of 16mta.
A fleet of 14 gas carriers comprising a mix of QMax and QFlex ships will be used to transport the gas to South Hook terminal.
Qatar Petroleum (QP) has a 67.5 percent stake in the terminal with ExxonMobil and Total holding 24.15 percent and 8.35 percent respectively.
Qatargas Operating Company Chairman and CEO, Faisal Mohammed Al Suwaidi told a news conference here yesterday that in case UK cannot absorb all the gas, the excess volume of LNG would be shipped to other markets.
"The UK market is seasonal, with a big difference in consumption during summer and winter. However, I think eventually the approximately 16 mta will end up in South Hook," he said.
Al Suwaidi said when the project was launched in 2004, studies showed that during summer there might be an oversupply of gas in the UK market. "This is the reason why we designed a shipping fleet to be a mix of QMax (263,000 to 266,000 cub.m capacity) and Q-Flex ( 210,100 to 217,000 cub.m capacity) that would provide the flexibility to send those carriers to other markets," he said.
To date about 20 terminals capable of receiving the large Q-Max and Q-Flex carriers have been identified, there will be no problem shipping the excess volume of gas elsewhere, he added.
The Qatargas 2 project is expected to supply some 20 percent of the UK's natural gas needs at a rate of one cargo every two to three days.
© The Peninsula 2009
