Qatar Merges State-Owned LNG Producers
Qatar, the world’s largest liquified natural gas producer, announced it is to merge state-owned Qatargas and RasGas to create a “truly unique global energy operator”, says an AP report.
The country is merging its two government-controlled LNG companies to streamline distribution of the fuel as the OPEC nation grapples with a slump in energy prices.
The merged company, to be known as Qatargas, will cut jobs and costs
Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, president and CEO of state oil company Qatar Petroleum, said Sunday the plan to combine Qatargas and the smaller RasGas will create a "unique global energy operator in terms of size, service and reliability."
The announcement was made at a press conference held at QP headquarters in the presence of representatives of the main international shareholders in both companies including ExxonMobil, Total, ConocoPhillips, and Shell, and the CEOs of Qatargas and RasGas.
Al-Kaabi said the move would save “hundreds of millions of dollars”, without elaborating over what timeframe this would be achieved.
The integration, which will start soon, is expected to be completed in a year, after which a new chief executive would be appointed.
Qatargas has a production capacity of 42mn tonnes per annum from its seven LNG trains and RasGas, which also has seven trains, has approximately 37mn tonnes per annum capacity, according to their websites.
The integration, which would enhance cost efficiency per unit of output, comes in the wake of reorganisation of Qatar Petroleum (QP).
In October, QP launched Ocean LNG to market future international LNG supply sourced outside Qatar. It is not clear whether QP will bring that business closer to the new Qatargas.