Due to the moratorium on gas production that lasts until 2015, there are very few activities in the gas sector in Qatar, however there will be some incremental gas output increases to feed the Shell Pearl GTL plant, according to Dr. Mostafa Al Guezeri, CEO of ABB in Qatar.
“Further output of 4 m tons/ year increase would come from the Barzan project in 2015. During this time, and leading to the FIFA world cup 2022, Qatar’s GDP growth [approximately 7%] would come from the infrastructure projects and the expanding domestic markets,” said Al Guezeri.
Most of the major projects occurring in the country are in downstream and petrochemicals sector, with Laffan Refinery Phase II, Shell Al Kharana Petrochemical Complex and the QAPCO Al Sejeel Petrochemicals projects. These projects are in early stages (FEED) and ABB is actively involved in working with the project stakeholders regarding the electrical infrastructure needs of these plants.
“We do not anticipate any major uptake in hydrocarbon output and associated projects due to the stated policies. Starting in 2015, this could change, increase in production capacity and increased global demands may drive other projects in this sector,” said Al Guezeri.
Emerson Process Management is currently working with some of Qatar’s largest gas suppliers to streamline and improve their processes.
“We are working on various expansion, debottlenecking and migration projects in the oil and gas sector, helping our customers sustain the country’s title as the LNG capital of the world,” said Branko Pecar, VP and GM Qatar, Kuwait & Iraq, Emerson Process Management.
Qatar has third largest gas reserve (900 TCF) in the world and a population of close to two million. Domestic consumption is very low as compared to the present export. According to Al Guezeri, the output from the Barzan complex would cater to increased energy demand. Qatar is also inveting in solar power to add to its energy mix.
“Qatar has already taken initiatives to set up solar power projects. Thus, we see a very negligible impact on export due to increasing domestic demand,” said Al Guezeri.
According to Emerson, although Qatar is experiencing significant growth in population, the actual reserves and the production levels (both current and future) are so vast that there is no danger of diverting the resources to domestic consumption and deviating from export commitments.
