British Prime Minister visits Qatargas

Doha, Qatar, November 3rd: Today Qatargas hosted The Rt. Hon.  Gordon Brown MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, The Rt. Hon Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and Mr. John Hawkins, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the State of Qatar on a brief tour of the Qatargas facilities at Ras Laffan Industrial City.

The visit included a viewing of Qatargas Train 4 and the main control room at site where Qatargas officials and staff explained to the delegation the processes and features of the new mega-trains.

“It is a great privilege for Qatargas to be able host this important delegation from the United Kingdom.  The Qatargas 2 project represents a sizable investment in long term capacity creation through the construction of these pioneering mega-trains and ships to transport energy to the United Kingdom and other markets;” said Mr. Faisal Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Qatargas Operating Company Limited.

He further added that; “Commissioning and start-up of Train 4 is now well underway and things are progressing well.  The focus for the company is on making sure start-up goes well and that the trains operate safely and reliably for the long term.”

“With our own North Sea gas supplies reducing each year the United Kingdom is working to diversify our energy supplies. That's why we value the work with the Qatargas 2 project which I've seen first hand at Ras Laffan. This will secure shipments of gas to the United Kingdom. Gas from this project will be arriving into Milford Haven this winter;” said The Rt. Hon. Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

The Qatargas 2 project is the first fully integrated value chain project to be developed in the LNG industry.  It includes a number of firsts for the industry.  The project is part of an expansion program at Qatargas which will allow production levels to rise from 10 million tonnnes per annum (mtpa) to 42 mtpa by the end of the decade.

Qatargas 2 shareholders are Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil Qatargas II Limited and Total E&P Qatargas II Holdings LTD.