15
S
ince the commissioning of
Trains 1 and 2 at the Das Island 1
LNG terminal (the UAE) in 1977, the
construction of liquefaction terminals in
the Middle East has been mainly focused
in Qatar, starting with the construction
of Train 1 at Qatargas 1 in Ras Laffan.
Following the first cargo shipment from
this facility in December 1996, Qatar has
gradually increased its LNG export capacity
from 2 million tpy to its current output
capacity of 77 million tpy – making Qatar
the world’s largest exporter of LNG. Other
countries, such as Yemen and Oman, also
contribute to the region’s export capacity.
However, with the former having declared
force majeure on its Total-operated
Yemen LNG facility a number of times in the
last couple of years, this has restricted its
ability to operate to its full potential.
