Qatar's oil minister said on Tuesday that the country would hit its production target of 77 million tonnes per year (tpy) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of 2010.

Qatar's Abdullah Al-Attiyah said phase 1 of the Shell Pearl gas to liquids (GTL) project would come online by the end of the year.

He said current LNG production by Qatar was at 54 million tonnes per year.

He also said the country would award gas development contracts for the Barzan gas field this year.

Al-Attiyah said the contract awards had been delayed because of costs. - Reuters