DOHA: Top LNG exporter Qatar will reach full export capacity of 77 million tons per year by the end of 2011, the head of the state oil marketing company said Sunday. Qatar already has the world's largest capacity to ship super-chilled gas, and exported its first cargo from the latest plant to come into operation in February. That plant, Qatargas train seven, was the last in its expansion plan to reach capacity of 77 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports per year. Qatargas trains six and seven are still ramping up, Saad Abdullah Al-Kuwari, chief executive officer of Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Co (Tasweeq), said. "The last two trains, six and seven from Qatargas, they did not reach operating capacity," he said. "Train seven is almost stabilized and now it is ramping up. By end of this year we will be producing 77 million tons." Royal Dutch Shell's and Qatar Petroleum's joint venture 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant should come on line by the end of the year and reach full capacity in the first quarter of 2012, Kuwari said. The Pearl plant will be the world's largest GTL facility. Plant operator Shell said in March it had started output from natural gas wells offshore, allowing the first sour gas to flow through a subsea pipeline into the giant GTL plant onshore. Japan had bought more LNG and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Qatar after the massive March earthquake and tsunami, and had also bought more of the oil product naphtha, he said. Japan's demand would return to more typical levels by August, he said. Qatargas train seven has capacity to export 7.8 million tons and is 30 percent owned by Royal Dutch Shell . Qatargas train six has the same capacity and is 30 percent owned by ConocoPhillips.
