Qatar liquefied Natural Gas Company (QATARGAS)
Established in 1994 and commissioned in 1997, Qatargas is a joint venture between QP, the French TotalFinaElf, the American Exxon Mobil and the Japanese Mitui and Marubeni. It presently produces about 10 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from three trains; and its plant processes 60 thousand barrels per day of condensate in addition to sulfur. Output capacity of the plant is expected to rise to 9.2 million tons annually. Qatargas operates purpose-built 11 LNG vessels, each with a capacity of 135 thousand cubic meters.
Qatar liquefied Gas Company presently has five main products:
Rich liquefied natural gas, unprocessed condensate, plant condensate, helium gas and sulfur.
In the near future Qatargas will start producing three additional products for export, including:
Liquefied natural gas.
Petroleum liquefied gas.
Processed petroleum condensate.


Qatargas Clients
The commitment from eight Japanese companies led by Chubu Electric Power Company to buy 6 million tons of LNG annually for 25 years has contributed a great deal in the establishment of Qatargas as a major LNG producer. In the period from January 1997 (the date of the first Qatari LNG shipment to Japan) to May 2003, Qatargas delivered more than 30 million tons of this clean, environment-friendly source of energy to the eight Japanese buyers. Now Qatargas supplies 12% of Japan's LNG imports, which represent half of the world's LNG imports.
Besides Chubu, there are other seven Japanese companies:
Tohoku Electric Company, Tokyo Electric Company, Kansai Electric Company, Chugoku Electric Company, Tokyo Gas Company, Osaka Gas Company and Tohu Gas Compny. In addition to these commitments, Qatargas has signed short and long-term agreements to ship LNG to a number of other markets including Spain, Turkey, Italy, USA, France, Korea and the UK.

The Future of Gatargas
Gatargas output capacity of LNG rised from its design capacity of 6 million tons to over 9 million tons annually.
In 2010 Gatargas is expected to double its annual LNG output capacity by adding new trains, which will be the largest of their kind in the field. Other projects including a refinery for condensate, a power plant, a helium plant and an aluminum smelter are planned for Ras Laffan Industrial City.