Qatar delayed the start-up of its $10B Barzan Gas project, which is a RasGas-operated joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil, due to a leak in a gas pipeline, reported Reuters.
Phase one of the project was scheduled to start in November, bringing Qatar’s gas production potential up by 2bcf/d when it reached capacity during the first half of 2017. However, a leak was found in one of the Barzan upstream gas pipelines. The assessment of the leakage is ongoing with the start-up not likely to happen before the end of 2016, according to LNG World News. RasGas projected that the facility’s output will reach around 11bcf/d of gas once two Barzan gas trains begin production.
Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil signed agreements confirming the project in 2011.
The Barzan offshore platform is located 80km northeast of Ras Laffan Industrial City. The project’s offshore facilities have been completed by Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea, while onshore facilities are being constructed by JGC of Japan.
The delay to Barzan is a setback for Qatar, which has said the project will sustain economic growth at a time of weak state revenues due to low oil and gas prices. Furthermore, the project was designed to meet rising domestic energy demand in the Gulf state as it prepares to host the soccer World Cup in 2022.
