LONDON/DUBAI: Qatar’s gas production at the South Pars field is steady and supply is proceeding normally, it said on Tuesday, after the world’s largest gas field was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, prompting Iran to partially suspend its production.
Qatar, the world’s third-biggest liquefied natural gas exporter after the US and Australia, shares the South Pars gas field with Iran.
“So far, gas supplies are proceeding normally. However, the ill-advised targeting raises concerns for everyone regarding gas supplies,” Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said.
“This is a reckless move … The companies operating in the fields are international, and there is a global presence, especially in the North Field,” he said during a weekly press briefing in Doha.
The South Pars field is located offshore in Iran’s southern Bushehr province and accounts for the bulk of production in Iran, the world’s third-largest gas producer after the United States and Russia.
Loading of LNG from Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG Terminal, which usually loads about 90 cargoes a month, remains within the usual range so far, according to shipping data from ICIS LNG Edge.
“There appear to be more than a dozen vessels in ballast (not carrying any cargo) waiting outside the port. These would ordinarily be expected to load quickly, but it remains to be seen if these will be delayed,” said ICIS’ LNG analyst Robert Songer. LNG tanker, HLAITAN, which delivered a cargo to India earlier this month, was on its way back to Ras Laffan but is idling away from the Strait of Hormuz.
