Qatargas on Tuesday announced that Train 5 of the Qatargas 2 project has started producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) taking the company halfway through its expansion programme.

The train, which has an annual production capacity of 7.8 million tones, will take the overall LNG production of Qatargas to 25 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by the end of this year.

Faisal M. Al Suwaidi, chief executive officer and vice chairman of Qatargas said: 'This is truly a remarkable achievement for Qatargas 2 and I would like to congratulate and thank all those who have made this possible.'

'The production of LNG in Train 5 takes us one step closer to Qatar’s target of producing 77 million tonnes of LNG per annum by the end of this decade. We are greatly proud to be able to contribute to this ambitious vision,' he noted.

“We have entered into a new phase in our journey towards becoming the world’s premier LNG Company. Our task now is to ensure that the new trains operate flawlessly and that we meet our customers’ expectations with regard to a secure and reliable supply of LNG for the long term, as we have been doing with Qatargas 1 for many years,” said an elated Al Suwaidi.

Qatargas pioneered LNG production in Qatar in late 1996. The company began operations as a three train LNG project with a total production of six mtpa of LNG.

The production capacity was increased to nearly ten mtpa following the completion of a debottlenecking project in 2005.

In addition to Trains 4 and 5, Qatargas 3 Train 6 is expected to come online in 2010 while Qatargas 4 Train 7 is planned for start-up by the end of the decade. This will bring the overall production capacity of Qatargas to 42 mtpa by the end of next year, he added.

Al Suwaidi said: “Our focus remains on delivering these projects so they can operate safely and reliably for the long-term. We will be known as the company that leads the LNG industry in terms of safety, reliability, operating excellence and commitment to its people and customers.”

Qatargas 2 shareholders are Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil Qatargas II Limited and Total E&P Golfe Limited.-TradeArabia News Service