Qatar: oil & gas

[Eubulides <paraconsistent@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dec. 8, 2003
ConocoPhillips signs $5 billion gas deal with Qatar
Reuters News Service

DOHA, Qatar  - ConocoPhillips and gas giant Qatar signed today a $5
billion deal to process gas into 160,000 barrels per day of gas-to-liquid
fuels.

Jim Mulva, President and Chief Executive Officer of ConocoPhillips, said
the first 80,000 bpd phase would cost about $1.5 billion and start up by
2009-2010. The second phase, which will double capacity, will raise total
costs to $5 billion.

The production-sharing contract marks the U.S. major's second gas deal
with Qatar in a year, the first being a 7.5 million tonnes per year
liquefied natural gas supply contract signed in July with Qatar Gas.

Terms of the contract and financing details were not immediately
available.

"With our technology, resources and experience in executing large-scale
developments, we are well-positioned to carry out global GTL projects,"
Mulva told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference in the
Qatari capital Doha.

"We are committed to meeting the goals set out in the statement of intent
and look forward to more definitive agreements in 2004."

Mulva said sales of gas-to-liquid fuels would be targeted towards markets
in Asia and possibly Europe.

Qatar has moved into the GTL industry to cash in on its huge gas reserves,
the third largest in the world after Russia and Iran.

The ConocoPhillips-Qatar Petroleum deal represents the third such project
secured by the state-run company, putting the Gulf Arab state on track
towards its goal of becoming the world GTL capital by 2010.

South African synthetic fuels producer Sasol and QP started construction
of a $900 million GTL plant with a capacity of 34,000 bpd on Sunday.

The Oryx GTL plant at Ras Laffan in Qatar, due onstream in 2005, is the
first of the country's six planned GTL projects to diversify its gas
utilisation and reduce dependence on crude.

Qatar in October signed a "heads-of-agreement" with Royal Dutch/Shell to
set up a $5 billion project to produce 140,000 bpd of GTL from 2008.

Other projects on the table are a 140,000 bpd plant with Marathon Oil, a
180,000 bpd project with ExxonMobil, a 185,000 bpd plant with Ivanhoe
Energy of Canada and a 120,000 bpd project with ChevronTexaco.