Qatargas has started liquefied natural gas (LNG) production on Train 6, a company statement said on Saturday. 

Part of the Qatargas 3 project, the train is part of efforts to reach the Gulf Arab state's production target of 77 million tonnes per year by mid-December 2010, the statement said.

Train 6 is a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum, US-based ConocoPhillips and Japan's Mitsui, with capacity to chill enough natural gas to produce 7.8 million tonnes of LNG per year for export.

Future liquefied natural gas output from Qatargas' trains 6 and 7 has already been sold, mainly to Europe, Asia and North America, Qatar's Energy Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah told Reuters in September.

Qatar is the world's biggest exporter of LNG, or gas cooled to liquid form so it can be transported by tanker.-Reuters