Qatar looks to ramp LNG production next year

Doha: Qatar could expand production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by around 10m tonnes a year through debottlenecking its biggest facilities that convert the fuel into liquid, Energy Minister, Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, said yesterday. ?"If we are going to expand production [above 77mn tonnes a year] we will do it through revamp and debottlenecking," he said. ?He said another 10mn tonnes of the super-cooled gas could be produced from the largest four LNG "supertrains," which each have a capacity of 7.8mn tonnes a year. No new trains would be built he added, saying debottlenecking was "cheaper and easier" than building more "grassroots projects." [14/12/10]