Ras Laffan Liquefied Gas Co (RasGas), one of two Qatari producers of the fuel, will shut three of its seven liquefaction plants for maintenance this year, according to three people with knowledge of the work.
The company’s fourth facility, called a train, will halt in April, said one of the people, who declined to be identified.
Train 3 will be shut in September and unit 7 will undergo repairs in November, the person said, adding that the halts will last from three to four weeks.
LNG shutdowns in Qatar, the world’s largest producer of the fuel, may affect short-term prices for natural gas in markets from the UK to Asia. Total maintenance planned for this year in Qatar will affect less than half the capacity halted in 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Production from train 7, one of the largest in the world with an annual capacity of 7.8mn metric tonnes of the chilled fuel, is shipped to Exxon, according to the website of International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers. Units 3 and 4 can each produce 4.7mn tonnes and supply India’s Petronet LNG and Spain’s Endesa and Italy’s Edison, respectively, according to the Paris-based association.
Qatar started its 14th liquefaction train in 2011, boosting annual capacity to 77mn tonnes, or more than 25% of the world’s total. Work is planned on at least 28.2mn tonnes of the Gulf nation’s capacity this year, down from 58.7mn in 2012, the data shows. There was one unplanned shutdown last year that halted the 7.8mn tonne Train 7 at Qatargas4 for 10 days in September.
LNG for delivery to Northeast Asia in four to eight weeks has climbed each week since October 8, rising to $17.50 per million British thermal units on January 7, the highest since June 11, according to assessments by New York-based World Gas Intelligence. Prices climbed to a record $18.40 last May.