Qatar plans power plant at UK South Hook LNG terminal

Qatar Petroleum plans to build a 500 megawatt (MW) combined heat and power (CHP) plant at its South Hook liquefied natural gas import terminal in Wales, Europe's biggest, it said in preliminary submissions to the UK's National Infrastructure Planning authority, Reuters reports.

"The proposed CHP plant will have an installed capacity of up to 500 MW and produce sufficient electricity to both meet the existing LNG terminal's power needs and to export surplus electricity," Qatar Petroleum and project partners ExxonMobil and Total said in an environmental impact assessment report to the planning authority.

It expects to make a submit a formal application in first-quarter 2013, the authority said.

The plan includes the option to eventually export surplus power into the National Grid transmission system via a plug-in point at Pembroke Power Station.

Britain depends on Qatar for nearly all of the UK's LNG supplies via the South Hook terminal.