They are blocks 1, 7 & 8, both onshore and offshore, he said at a session at the Qatar Economic Forum. But they are not in the North Field, he clarified.

The QP director said bidding was on currently for two blocks for oil and gas exploration.

He said no new developments would take place at the North Field till the reservoir study was completed there.

He said Qatar was well on course to attain oil production capacity of 1mn barrels per day (bpd) by 2010. Currently, Qatar’s production capacity is over 800,000bpd.

The capacity boost will come from the development of Al Shaheen field, currently operated by Maersk.

Current gas production from the North Field is about 7bn standard cubic feet a day (cfd). This will go up to 20bn standard cfd by 2010.

Qatar’s gas basket will comprise about 60% LNG, 31% pipeline gas and 9% gas-to-liquids (GTL).

Qatar recently became the world’s largest producer of LNG at 31mn tonnes per year. By 2010, the LNG production figure will exceed 77mn tpy.

Currently, Qatar has no plans to take up new GTL projects. The first product from Oryx GTL, Qatar’s first gas-to-liquids plant is expected to reach the market very soon.

Pearl GTL, the second GTL project will be the world’s largest on completion (expected by 2010-2011).

Al-Kaabi said the proposal to supply pipeline gas to Kuwait could not be met due to political reasons. The pipeline was to have passed through Saudi Arabia before reaching Kuwait.

Talking later to Gulf Times, the QP director said contractual supply of gas to the Dolphin Project would commence next month.

However, supply would be ramped up to 2bn cfd (as per the contract) gradually, he said on the sidelines of the Forum.

Al-Kaabi said QP had already begun pumping some 400mn cfd of gas to Dolphin for commissioning the pipeline and testing the gas receiving and processing facilities at Taweelah near Abu Dhabi.

“The pipeline is ready but the project as a whole will be up and running only in June,” he said.

Dolphin Energy Limited (DEL) has laid a pipeline from Ras Laffan to Taweelah to carry Qatari gas from the North Field to the emirate. The pipeline is partly subsea and Dolphin has already set up processing facilities at Taweelah for the Qatari gas.

Although the supplies were meant for utilities in the UAE, Oman could be Dolphin’s customer one day.

Dolphin sources gas from Qatar under an agreement with QP.

Dolphin Energy’s major strategic initiative, the Dolphin Project, involves the production and processing of natural gas from Qatar’s North Field, and transportation of the dry gas by sub-sea export pipeline from Qatar to the UAE.

Dolphin Energy Limited was created to develop substantial energy projects throughout the GCC and to create long-term economic wealth and new business opportunities for Gulf nationals, far into the future.

The long term customers for Dolphin gas from Qatar are ADWEA (Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority), UWEC (Union Water & Electricity Authority), DUSUP (Dubai Supply Authority) and OOC (Oman Oil Company) from 2008.

All the above institutions have signed a gas supply agreement with Dolphin Energy for 25 years.

Dolphin Energy is owned 51% by Mubadala Development Company, on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi – and 24.5% each by Total and Occidental Petroleum.

PIN/Gulf-Times.Com