By Sachin Kumar
DOHA: Qatar has maintained lead in natural gas liquefaction capacity. With 77 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) capacity in 2014, Qatar remained the largest liquefaction capacity holder in the world, according to International Gas Union (IGU) report.
Liquefaction is the process by which natural gas is converted into liquid. “Nearly two-thirds of the world’s capacity is held by Qatar, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia and Nigeria. Qatar alone holds 26pc of the total,” said the report.
Indonesia was at second spot with 28.7 MTPA liquefaction capacity in 2014 followed by Australia with 28.6 MTPA capacity.
Qatar’s lead in liquefaction capacity does not come as a surprise because it is the largest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exporter. Qatar ranks third in the world in terms of natural gas reserves and holds about 13.1 percent of the world’s total proven gas reserves. Japan, South Korea, India and China are the main importers of Qatar’s LNG. Japan is Qatar’s largest market followed by South Korea and India.
Global nominal liquefaction capacity stood at 301.2 MTPA at the end of 2014, up from 290.7 in 2013. Qatar’s liquefaction capacity stood at 69.2 MTPA in 2010 while Indonesia’s capacity was 34.1 MTPA.
At the end of 2010, global liquefaction capacity stood at 270.9 MTPA. The Middle East accounts for the largest share of global liquefaction capacity totalling 34 percent in 2014.
According to the report, liquefaction capacity is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.
“Having remained relatively stable since 2011, global liquefaction capacity increased by 10.5 MTPA in 2014,” said the report. “Capacity will grow significantly over the next several years, as 128 MTPA of projects were under construction in the first quarter of 2015 — mostly in Australia and the US. However, only a few LNG proposals are likely to be sanctioned in 2015 due to the forecast loosening of the global LNG market in the medium term, as well as the financial difficulties caused by declining oil prices,” it added.
In 2014, Asia Pacific accounted for 32 percent of global capacity (95.3 MTPA). With 71.3 MTPA of capacity under construction, this share will increase rapidly over the next several years.
“About 54 percent of total global capacity under construction is located in Asia Pacific. As a result, by 2020, liquefaction capacity in the region is set to surpass capacity in the Middle East by a considerable margin (57 MTPA). Australia will be the primary driver of growth, but Malaysia and Indonesia will also contribute.”
The Peninsula
