Qatar Petroleum announced the award of a major contract for engineering, procurement and construction work to South Korea's Samsung C&T Corporation.

The contract was signed in Doha by Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and Oh Se Chol, CEO of the Korean company.

The total value of the contract exceeds 7 billion Qatari riyals (1.94 billion dollars) and includes the expansion of storage and loading facilities for liquefied natural gas in Ras Laffan Industrial City, for the benefit of the Northeast Field Expansion Project.

Qatar Petroleum says in a statement that this contract represents another milestone on the road to achieving a significant increase in the production capacity of LNG in the country.

The project will raise the production capacity of liquefied natural gas from 77 million tons per year currently to 126 million by 2027.

"The award of this engineering, supply and construction works contract is an important new step towards developing our natural gas resources, and strengthening our position as the largest and most reliable producer of LNG in the world," Al Kaabi said.

He added: Under this contract, we will expand the existing infrastructure that we need to ensure the safe loading and timely delivery of LNG shipments to our international customers around the world.

The minister explained that the contract includes the construction of 3 LNG tanks, 3 berths to load LNG for the Northeast Field Project, an option for two LNG tanks, and one berth for loading LNG for the North South Field Project, in addition to the pipelines and the related loading.

Qatar Gas

Meanwhile, Qatargas delivered a shipment of LNG to the Enur terminal to receive LNG in the city of Chennai, southern India, which is the first time that a tanker leased from the Qatari company docked at this terminal.

The tanker had a tonnage of 147,000 cubic meters of LNG, and was bought by the Indian Private Limited Company for LNG and Oil.

The terminal is intended for importing, storing and re-converting liquefied gas before distribution.

It is noteworthy that India is a major market for Qatar Gas due to its geographical proximity, as it imports 8.5 million tons annually of Qatari LNG under long-term contracts.