In 1971, when exploration engineers discovered natural gas off Qatar's northeast coast, no one knew quite how important the find was. Only after 15 appraisal wells had been drilled over a period of 14 years was it established that Qatar's North Field was the largest non-associated natural gas field in the world, with recoverable reserves of more than 900 trillion standard cubic feet (TSCF), or approximately 10% of the world's known reserves.
This makes Qatar the world's largest holder of proven gas reserves after Russia and Iran. The North Field will supply gas to fulfil multiple large-scale long-term gas sales contracts for many decades to come.
The North Field lies off the north-east shore of the Qatar peninsula and covers an area of more than 6,000 square kilometres, equivalent to about half the land area of the State of Qatar.