Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (3) (Ras Laffan 3) announced the completion and start-up of Train 7 at Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar. The project is a joint venture of Qatar Petroleum (70 percent) and ExxonMobil Ras Laffan (3) Limited (30 percent) and represents another expansion of LNG production facilities operated by RasGas Company Limited.
Qatar has become the world's largest LNG supplier. Through successful joint ventures with Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil has an interest in 12 trains in Qatar to supply liquefied natural gas to major markets in Asia, Europe and North America.
Ras Laffan 3 Train 7 is the fourth 7.8 million tons per year LNG plant brought online by Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil joint ventures within the past 12 months. Qatar's giant North Field, which is estimated to contain in excess of 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, will supply to the train.
Neil Duffin, president, ExxonMobil Development Company said that initiating LNG production from Ras Laffan 3 Train 7 marks another major milestone in the unprecedented effort between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil to design and effectively implement the largest liquefaction trains, LNG vessels and terminals in the world.
Ras Laffan 3 is part of a full value-chain investment that includes the facilities associated with natural gas production and liquefaction in Qatar. Also involved are investments by affiliates of Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil in 12 new, more efficient Q-Flex LNG vessels and one Q-Max LNG vessel. The Q-Flex and Q-Max designs can carry about 45 and 80 percent, respectively, more LNG than the average carrier operating today and can access LNG terminals in all of the world’s major LNG markets. The final key component of the value chain is the Golden Pass LNG terminal, under construction near Sabine Pass, Texas, capable of re-gasifying 15.6 million tons per year of LNG. The joint venture consists of affiliates of Qatar Petroleum (70 percent), ExxonMobil (17.6 percent) and ConocoPhillips (12.4 percent) and is expected to start up in 2010.
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