Offshore delivery of LNG to Dubai from Qatar due 2011

GAS SUPPLIES: Qatar has said it will start delivering liquified natural gas to Dubai by 2011. (Getty Images)

Plans to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar to Dubai through a Royal Dutch Shell Plc offshore import terminal have been delayed for one year, it has been reported.

Qatar’s oil minister said in an interview at a gas conference in Doha on Tuesday that delivery will start in 2011 as opposed to 2010, but gave no reason for the hold up, according to Bloomberg.

Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad Attiyah added: “We may see an LNG tanker in Dubai soon, we’ll be shipping gas there during the summer months.”

Dubai already imports LNG from Qatar via the Dolphin Energy Ltd pipeline that passes through Abu Dhabi, but increased demand on the back of a growth in population has led the emirate to seek additional LNG supply options.   
 
An agreement signed by Shell earlier this year will see it transport LNG from Qatar to Dubai for 15 years.

The company will build a floating terminal off Dunai to receive the fule and send it to the shore through pipelines, said John Mills, vice-president for Shell gas in the Middle East in November.

However, some industry experts maintain that receiving fuel at a floating platform is not reliable as poor weather and sea conditions could hamper operations.

“Floating LNG plants are not a fully proven concept,” said Poten & Partners Inc.’s gas consultants Ilmars Kerbers and Graham Hartnell, at the 7th Doha Natural Gas Conference and Exhibition.

Dubai needs the fuel because power demand in the U.A.E. is expected to triple to 41,000 megawatts by 2020 as the country uses its oil revenue to develop infrastructure and industries.

Qatar Petroleum, the state-run energy company, aims to generate QR560bn ($154bn) in revenue through 2012 as new projects begin producing fuel, Attiyah added.

Qatar plans to complete all 14 LNG production units, or trains, by the end of next year and finish by 2012 a study on its North Field, the world’s largest gas reservoir, he said.

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