Regional LNG: Qatar and ExxonMobil to ink LNG agreement

A $10 billion-$12 billion deal with ExxonMobil to ship liquefied natural gas to the U.S. from Qatar is expected to be concluded within weeks, Qatar Energy Minister Abdullah Al-Attiyah said Thursday, as quoted Dow Jones.

The deal, if struck, will see 15 million tons of LNG shipped each year to the U.S. by the end of the decade.

"We're in final discussions and we hope to sign it a few weeks from now," Al-Attiyah said, following an OPEC meeting in the Austrian capital.

The deal will create a joint venture between ExxonMobil and Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Ltd., or RasGas.

The integrated deal will cover the construction of two trains, each with a capacity of 7.5 million tons a year, terminals in the U.S. and Qatar, shipping and upstream projects.

RasGas and its sister company Qatargas both tap the North Field, the largest offshore natural gas field in the world with reserves of 900 trillion standard cubic feet of recoverable gas.

RasGas is 63% owned by the state-owned Qatar Petroleum., 25% by Mobil QM Gas Inc., which is wholly owned by ExxonMobil Corp., 4% by Itochu Corp., 3% by Nissho Iwai Corp. and 5% by Korea Gas.

In July, Qatar signed an agreement with ConocoPhillips for a feasibility study on importing about 1 billion cubic feet a day of LNG to the U.S. from the North Field.(*)