Qatar has invited Russia's Gazprom to take part in projects to extract and produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) after a moratorium is lifted on developing its North Field deposits, the Russian energy giant said on Thursday. The majority of Qatar's vast natural gas is concentrated in the massive offshore North Field, the world's largest non-associated natural gas field, which is shared between Iran and Qatar. In 2005, the country's government announced a moratorium on additional projects in the area that is not expected to be lifted until 2014.
"Representatives of Gazprom were interested in Qatar's invitation to take part in projects to extract and liquefy natural gas in Qatar after 2014, when the moratorium on expanding gas production at the North Field might be lifted," Gazprom said on its website. Qatar has the third-largest natural gas reserves in the world, behind Russia and Iran, with proven reserves of approximately 25.8 trillion cubic meters, or almost 15% of the global total.
