Qatar

State-owned Qatar Petroleum said Wednesday that it has spud the first of 80 wells as part of its ambitious North Field East (NFE) Project aimed at significantly expanding its liquefied natural gas (LNG) output in the coming years.

State-owned Qatar Petroleum remains committed to expand its natural gas exports worldwide by 2024 to maintain its leadership position, Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said Tuesday.

Qatar’s state-owned producer, the largest natural gas exporter in the world, is aiming to remain on the leaderboard as it awards contracts to enhance production capacity by 2024 to 110 million metric tons/year (mmty) from 77 mmty.

A discovery that may represent a natural gas resource of 5-8 Tcf has been discovered offshore Cyprus by ExxonMobil Corp., which partners in the block with Qatar Petroleum.

The No. 1 natural gas exporter in the world, Qatar Petroleum (QP), is said to be exploring investments of up to $20 billion in the United States, in both onshore and offshore projects.

Qatar announced Monday that it would withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to keep its focus on liquefied natural gas (LNG), its main export product.

State-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP), the No. 1 liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplier in the world, plans to develop additional gas reserves in the country’s North Field to increase liquefaction capacity by 43%.

Qatar Petroleum (QP) on Monday snapped up its first significant international stakes in unconventional oil and natural gas resources in an agreement with ExxonMobil Corp. to become an equity holder in the Vaca Muerta formation onshore in Argentina’s Neuquén Basin.

Australia plans to restrict natural gas exports beginning in 2018 to give the state first dibs on supply in an effort to contain rising domestic energy prices, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced Tuesday.