Qatar Aims to Restore 80% of LNG Export Capacity in Two Months

DOHA, June 16. /TASS/. Qatar expects to rapidly ramp up liquefied natural gas (LNG) production following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and restore about 80% of its export capacity within two months, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

According to the agency, state-owned oil and gas company QatarEnergy has informed customers that it plans to raise LNG output to approximately 50% of total capacity within one month after safe navigation through the strait is restored. Another month later, the figure is expected to reach 80%.

Bloomberg sources said that fully restoring the remaining capacity, equivalent to two production trains, will take years. Those facilities sustained significant damage as a result of Iranian missile strikes in March.

Since April, QatarEnergy has been conducting equipment testing and necessary maintenance work to prepare for a rapid restart. Several production trains have been operating at reduced capacity in order to maintain supplies to neighboring countries and ensure readiness for a production increase.

Qatar is among the world's three largest LNG exporters. The Ras Laffan industrial complex in the north of the country houses the emirate's main gas liquefaction, storage, and export facilities, including 14 LNG trains with a combined capacity of approximately 77 mln metric tons per year. On March 2, QatarEnergy announced the suspension of LNG production following Iranian strikes on the country's territory. On March 18 and 19, facilities at Ras Laffan came under renewed missile attacks, resulting in damage to two LNG production trains as well as one of the country's two liquid fuels production facilities.

Early Monday, officials from the United States, Iran, and Pakistan, which has been serving as a mediator, confirmed that a ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran had been reached. The document is scheduled to be signed in Geneva on June 19.