Overview
The Barzan Gas Project is a major gas processing initiative developed by QatarEnergy (formerly Qatar Petroleum) in partnership with ExxonMobil. The project is designed to supply natural gas for Qatar’s domestic market, including power generation, water desalination, petrochemical production, and other industrial uses. By dedicating gas production specifically for domestic consumption, the Barzan project reduces the need to divert gas from the North Field’s LNG-allocated streams to meet internal demand.
Project Phases
The Barzan Gas Project has been developed in two phases:
- Phase 1 — commenced production in 2015. The phase includes offshore platforms in the North Field, subsea pipelines transporting raw gas to shore, and an onshore gas processing facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City. Phase 1 has a production capacity of approximately 1.4 billion standard cubic feet per day of sales gas, along with associated condensate and natural gas liquids.
- Phase 2 — designed to add an equivalent volume of gas production capacity, effectively doubling the project’s total output. Phase 2 utilises similar offshore and onshore infrastructure and is intended to meet the growth in Qatar’s domestic gas demand driven by population growth, urbanisation, and industrial expansion.
Technical Infrastructure
The offshore component of the Barzan project includes wellhead platforms and subsea pipelines connecting to the Ras Laffan processing facilities. The onshore plant processes raw gas by removing impurities, separating natural gas liquids and condensate, and compressing the treated gas for injection into the national gas grid operated by Kahramaa and other domestic consumers.
The project was jointly developed by QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil through the RasGas Company (now integrated into QatarEnergy’s LNG operations), with ExxonMobil contributing technical expertise in offshore gas development and large-scale gas processing.
Strategic Significance
Qatar’s rapid economic growth has driven a substantial increase in domestic gas consumption. Power generation and water desalination alone account for a significant share of national gas demand. Without dedicated domestic gas supply projects, meeting this demand would require diverting gas from LNG export operations, reducing export revenues.
The Barzan project ensures that Qatar can simultaneously meet domestic energy needs and maintain its LNG export commitments. This dual-track approach — one stream for domestic use, another for export — is central to the energy management strategy embedded in the National Vision 2030.