Qatar expects exports from its Golden Pass joint venture in the American state of Texas to begin in 2021, an adviser to the Qatari government has told the Gulf Times newspaper.
Qatar Petroleum (QP) owns a 70% stake in an LNG receiving terminal in Texas that is backed by Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips.
With prices down and competition increasing, Qatar is looking to diversify its energy business.
Golden Pass is seeking US government approval to repurpose the facility so that it can export 15.6mn tonnes of US gas per year.
“We (have) already got the licence. If everything goes right by 2020-21, we will export the first cargo from Golden Pass,” Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, former oil minister who advises the government on energy issues, told reporters at a media briefing in Doha attended by a QP board member.
Qatar shipped 76.4mn tonnes of LNG in 2014, or 32% of global supply, according to the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers.
But the Gulf state, a top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, faces rising competition as new projects in the US and Australia are expected to come online in the next few years.
Al-Attiyah said the Texas venture would make Qatar a more flexible exporter by allowing it to supply its existing customers in Europe with gas from the US.
“We will become more dynamic in the energy market,” he said.
Qatar’s finance minister said last year that the country planned to invest more than $35bn in the US over five years in sectors including technology, energy and real estate.
