The potential move ends a moratorium which was declared by Qatar in 2005 on the development of world's biggest natural gas field, North Field, which the country shares with Iran.
Qatar Petroleum president and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said: "Qatar Petroleum’s technical studies and assessment of the North Field have confirmed the potential for developing a new gas project that can be targeted for export with a capacity of about 2 billion cubic feet per day.”
Al-Kaabi was reported by Reuters as saying to reporters: "We have completed most of our projects and now is a good time to lift the moratorium.”
The new gas project is expected to increase the current production of the North Field by about 10%. It will add about 400,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil equivalent to the State of Qatar’s production.
Al-Kaabi added: "Since 2005, Qatar Petroleum has been conducting extensive studies and exerting exceptional efforts to assess the North Field, including drilling a number of appraisal wells to better estimate the Field’s production potential, which enabled us to reach this satisfactory result today."
Over the next few months, Qatar Petroleum plans to commence work on the project’s details.
The firm expects the new project to further strengthen Qatar's position as a major player in the global gas industry.
Production from the new project is planned to commence in five to seven years.
