Qatar is investing a lot of money on increasing its LNG capacity, but it is also moving on with major investments for NFPS projects.

A joint venture between Malaysia’s Ranhill Utilities and the world’s largest engineering company, Worley, to work on the North Field Production Sustainability (NFPS) project in Qatar could soon be launched, after a reported contract between the parties.

The engineering design work is part of the $50 million contract from a Saipem subsidiary in Italy, and it is anticipated to be finished by the third quarter of 2024, reports said.

For the NFPS project, which is located off the coast of Qatar, Qatargas granted Saipem a record $4.5 billion engineering, procurement, fabrication, and installation contract last year.

Its EPCI work scope consists of two offshore natural gas compression complexes meant to maintain production at the North Field, the company detailed.

The weight of each of the compression platforms is probably between 25,000 and 35,000 tonnes.

Saipem had stated that the project will include “two of the largest fixed steel jacket compression platforms ever built”, among flare platforms, living quarters, interconnecting bridges and interface modules, reports said.

“This prestigious award represents the largest single offshore contract by total value in the company’s history,” it said last year.

The initial development phase of the NFPS project is being developed by numerous packages, all of which are being carried out by Qatargas, a division of state-owned QatarEnergy.

North Field expansion

The multi-billion North Field expansion project is the largest of its kind and is leading Qatar’s drive to dominate liquified natural gas (LNG) supplies.

The project is broken into two parts, the North Field East (NFE) and the North Field South (NFS).

The nearly $30 billion North Field Expansion includes six LNG trains that will drastically increase Qatar’s liquefaction capacity by 64% by 2027.

The units have the capacity to produce eight million tonnes of LNG per year.

The first is set to ramp up Qatar’s production from 77 to 110 million tonnes per annum as the NFS will increase the production capacity from 110 to 126 million tonnes per annum.

QatarEnergy announced eight international partnership agreements this year for both phases of the projects, set to kick start in 2026 and 2027.

The state-owned energy company also said it concluded long-term charter agreements for 60 LNG carriers, a figure that is expected to bump up to 100 in the future.

While investing extensively in the expansion of its LNG capacity, Qatar is also moving on with major investments for the NFPS projects, which aim to maintain gas output from the massive offshore field.