DOHA�The Qatar liquefied natural gas company (Qatargas) is expanding its annual capacity to 8.2 million tons of LNG from the current level of 6 million tons. The company's managing director, Faisal al Suweidi, said he expected approval from the firm's board of directors for a debottlenecking operation that would help in raising production by year's end.
He said this could be done using internal resources.
Qatargas owns and operates the country's first, and largest, LNG plant, which uses gas from the country's giant North field. LNG produced from three trains is supplied to eight long-term customers in Japan.
While efforts would be made to expand its sales markets, the company's contractual obligations to supply LNG to Japan, other parts of Asia, and Europe, as well as the United States, were on the company's priority list, he stressed.
In addition, Qatargas has established six other country markets for spot sales.
In June this year, Qatargas' 250th LNG cargo was loaded at Ras Laffan port, of which 80% was delivered to Japan and the remaining 20% to spot buyers across the world.
