CAPITAL: DOHA
MONETARY UNIT: RIYAL
REFINING CAPACITY: 57,500 B/D
OIL PRODUCTION: 680,800 B/D
OIL RESERVES: 13.1 BILLION BBL
GAS RESERVES: 394 TCF
Qatar outlined a four-pronged strategy to tap its huge gas reserves and meet regional gas demand.
It planned to increase production of LNG by debottlenecking its existing plants, operated by Qatar Liquefied Gas Co. and Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co., and adding LNG trains. Qatar planned to focus on exporting gas within the region via pipeline and developing value-added schemes, such as gas-to-liquids synthetic fuels and petrochemical projects.
Qatar officials said gas demand in the Persian Gulf region was growing and increasingly would be needed for reinjection into aging oil reservoirs to maintain pressure.
The increase in gas demand would come from expansion in the power generation, water desalination, petrochemical, steel, and aluminum industries.
The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, Doha, a Gulf Cooperation Council think tank, was studying the feasibility of a proposed $2 billion gas grid project among GCC countries.
The proposal called for a 1,300 km pipeline network to carry gas from Qatar's North field. Private companies would finance and construct most of the project.
The proposal called for 1.55 bcfd of gas to be moved through the trunkline initially, increasing to 2.25 bcfd and finally 3.8 bcfd by 2020.
The line would link Ras Laffan with Dubai, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jubail, and Kuwait.
The council consisted of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Bahrain.
Line to Pakistan
Pakistan's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources signed a pact with Crescent Petroleum Co. International Ltd. of Sharjah, UAE, to study construction of a long-planned gas pipeline from Qatar to Pakistan.
Under the deal, Crescent would finance, construct, and operate the proposed gas pipeline, which would move 1.6 bcfd.
The pipeline route would be mainly offshore. It would extend from Ras Laffan through Hamriyah, then Dibba on the Gulf of Oman, terminating at Gadani, Pakistan. The section between Hamriyah and Dibba would be onshore.
The parties were due to negotiate a detailed agreement and sign a gas sale-purchase agreement by mid-2001.
The project was first proposed in 1991. Since then, the competing Dolphin project was making progress in lining up agreements. Dolphin would move 1-1.5 bcfd.
The $8-10 billion Dolphin project sought to market and distribute gas from North field to Qatar, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, and ultimately across the Gulf of Oman to Pakistan. Other goals included development of petrochemical, power generation, and other industrial projects in these countries.
Dolphin was proposed by the UAE Offsets Group, which would hold a 51%. Other backers were Enron Corp. and TotalFinaElf SA unit Elf Aquitaine, each with 24.5%.
The Crescent project, called Gulf South Asia (GUSA), originally included TotalFinaElf, Brown & Root, and TransCanada PipeLines Ltd.
Crescent officials said the pipeline could be completed in 30-36 months at a cost of $2.5-3 billion.
Development plans
QGPC planned to drill 270 wells in three of its producing oil fields over a decade in a bid to increase the nation's productive capacity.
The plan included drilling 147 wells and 70 sidetracks to existing wells at onshore Dukhan field in order to sustain production levels. Offshore, 37 development wells would be drilled at Maydan Mahzam and 86 at Bul Hanine. They would be mostly horizontal wells.
Meanwhile, QGPC planned an enhanced oil recovery project at Dukhan field's Diyab station and was looking to develop some small reservoirs. An additional 21 gas production and injection wells would be drilled under the Arab-D gas recycling project.
Dukhan field was producing 170,000 b/d, although it had capacity to produce 235,000 b/d. QGPC wanted to boost capacity to 380,000 b/d by 2010.
Maydan Mahzam produced 75,000 b/d and Bul Hanine 45,000 b/d. Plans were to increase them to 95,000 b/d and 65,000 b/d, respectively.
The three fields, all operated by QGPC, are the oldest in the emirate. Dukham had been producing since 1949.
Gas developments
ExxonMobil Middle East Gas Marketing and QGPC signed a development and production-sharing agreement for an enhanced gas utilization (EGU) project at Qatar's North gas field.
Under the EGU scheme, additional North field gas reserves would be developed for pipeline sales to domestic projects and for exports to Kuwait.
The EGU project would produce 1.75 bcfd of gas, plus condensate, butane, and propane for export, as well as ethane for use as feedstock in future petrochemical plants.
QGPC let a $200 million contract to ENI SPA unit Snamprogetti SPA for construction of a gas lift plant at Dukhan onshore field on Qatar's western coast.
Snam was to supply detailed engineering, materials, equipment, construction, and start-up services for the plant.
The work, slated for completion in 2002, would involve installation of gathering and booster compressors, field-wide lift-gas gathering and distribution headers and flowlines, and gas dehydration and crude stabilization plants.
Phillips Petroleum Co. withdrew from a gas-to-liquids joint venture with QGPC and Sasol Ltd.
Phillips had been participating in the GTL plant project, to be built at Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar. QGPC and Sasol reverted to a two-partner ownership, giving QGPC 51% and Sasol the balance.
The companies said they would proceed with design and engineering plans.
They also said they would increase the project to 30,000 b/d of diesel and naphtha. They said the expansion would enable the project to make maximum use of the infrastructure available at Ras Laffan while providing greater opportunities to integrate with other Ras Laffan projects.
Phillips was involved in the construction of the Q-Chem Project and was assisting QGPC as project manager for the implementation of the NGL-4 project at Mesaieed. Commissioning for both these projects was expected in 2002.
Oil fields
The Qatari energy ministry approved a $200 million expansion plan for Al Khaleej offshore oil field on Block 6. The plan would double production capacity to 60,000 b/d by late 2001.
Elf Qatar's parent TotalFinaElf SA had a 55% interest in the Qatari production-sharing agreement covering the field, and Agip SPA unit Agip International had the rest.
The partners planned to build two production platforms and link them to the oil export terminal on Halul Island with a 45-km subsea pipeline. Plans also proposed for the two companies to more than double oil processing facility capacity to 110,000 b/d.
Qatar approved a plan for further development of Al Shaheen Field in Block 5 off Qatar, said Maersk Oil Qatar AS.
The program would increase production to 200,000 b/d of oil in 2004 from 112,000 b/d in 2001.
During 2001 Maersk planned to drill 40 production wells and 20 water injection wells, as well as convert 14 existing wells to water injection. It would install production platforms, interconnected with pipelines, facilities for gas compression, and a gas export pipeline to Qatar Petroleum's North Field Alpha platform, off Qatar.
In addition, a number of appraisal wells would be drilled, said Maersk.
Once the pipelines were installed, some production was possible during drilling before permanent facilities were in place in 2003.
Qatar, Maersk Oil, and QPGC signed an exploration and production sharing agreement in 1992.
Marketing
Qatar worked to become the first country in the Middle East to eliminate lead from its gasoline.
The National Oil Distribution Co. (NODCO), a QGPC subsidiary, said the change would not affect prices.
NODCO said Qatar planned to become a major exporter of unleaded gasoline, shipping a projected 13 million bbl/year once its refinery expansion project was completed in early 2002.
Qatar was producing 13,000 b/d of unleaded gasoline. After the refinery expansion, production was expected to reach 50,000 b/d. Local consumption was estimated at 12,000 b/d.
The first phase of the project, a condensate plant, was due to start up in late 2001, as was the second phase, a catalytic cracking unit. They would boost the output capacity of all products to 137,000 b/d.
