Qatar, Russia Shutter Gas Supply as Prices Sag: Energy Markets - Bloomberg.com

Qatar, the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas, will idle 66 percent of its export plants this year, reversing earlier plans and joining Russia in curtailing supply amid a global glut.

Qatar’s two LNG producers, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co. and Qatar Liquefied Gas Co., had an “unusually heavy” maintenance program during the past two months that shut six of 12 production units for several weeks, New York-based consultant Poten & Partners said in a report. Another two units will undergo repairs this summer.

Russian gas-export monopoly OAO Gazprom, which supplies about a quarter of Europe’s gas, cut its 2010 production goal yesterday because of reduced demand. Qatar has changed tack from a January comment by Faisal al-Suwaidi, then chief executive officer of QatarGas, that his company probably wouldn’t idle any LNG units for maintenance in 2010. Qatar and Russia rejected a proposal by Algeria in April that exporting nations trim shipments to support prices.