Qatar Petroleum (QP) has merged its two largest LNG producers in a move that is set to save the state-owned oil company R2bn a year.
QP's merger of Qatargas, the world's largest LNG producer, with RasGas, the peninsula's second largest producer, became operational at the start of the year. The new firm is operating under the name Qatargas and it has become the sole company responsible for Qatar’s gas exports.
Qatar is the world's largest LNG exporter.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, president and CEO of QP, said: “Our aim was to integrate the two companies’ resources and capabilities to create a truly unique global energy operator in terms of size, service and reliability. We also aimed to create higher value for our stakeholders, and enhance the competitive position of the Qatari gas industry.”
The new Qatargas will operate “under one management system and one work culture”, Al-Kaabi added.
The firm is now responsible for 14 gas fields with a total annual production capacity of 77m tonnes. Before the merger, RasGas also produced a quarter of the world’s helium.
Qatargas’s pre-merger CEO, Sheik Khalid Bin Khalifa Al Thani, will remain the CEO of the new company.
The announcement was made in front of the two company’s main international shareholders, including ExxonMobil, Total, ConocoPhillips and Shell.
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