Qatar Petroleum has awarded Samsung C&T Corporation an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract valued over $2bn. The contract is for the expansion of LNG storage and loading facilities located within Ras Laffan Industrial City, as part of the North Field East (NFE) project.

The contract was signed by Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum and Oh Se-chul, the president and CEO of Samsung C&T.

According to a statement, the contract was awarded on a lump sum basis and was the second major onshore EPC contract award for the North Field East (NFE) project. Once complete, the NFE Project will boost Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77m to 110m tonnes per annum (MTPA).

Earlier, Qatar Petroleum had awarded the EPC contract for the construction of four LNG mega-trains with associated facilities to Chiyoda Technip Joint Venture. Both contracts represent the culmination of front-end engineering and design work that began in early 2018, the statement explained.

“This contract provides for the expansion of existing infrastructure required to ensure the safe loading and on-time delivery of our LNG cargoes to our international customers across the globe. Its scope includes three LNG tanks and three LNG loading berths for NFE, and options for two LNG tanks and one LNG berth for NFS project, and all associated pipes, lines and loading lines,” stated Al Kaabi.

He noted that the contract is another concrete step towards the further development of Qatar’s natural gas resources, and enhancing the country’s position as the world’s largest, most reliable LNG producer.

The second phase of the planned LNG expansion, the North Field South (NFS) Project, will further increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 110 MTPA to 126 MTPA by 2027, he concluded.