DOHA, May 24 (AFP) - Qatar's first gas exports to South Korea under a huge 25-year contract are expected to be delivered in August after the vast Ras Laffan LNG Co. Ltd. (Rasgas) joint venture began production Monday, a company spokesman said. "Ras Laffan began production of liquified natural gas (LNG) Monday ... the first gas delivery is due to leave the country for South Korea in August," the spokesman told the official news agency QNA. Qatar's contract with South Korea is due to come into force in phases, with 600,000 tonnes expected in 1999, 3.3 million tonnes in 2000, 4.2 million tonnes in 2001 and then the full 4.8 million tonnes from 2002 onwards. Rasgas, established in 1993, is a joint venture between state-owned Qatar General Petroleum Corp. (63 percent) and the US Mobil Corp. (25 percent). Other stakeholders are Japan's Itochu Corp. (four percent) and Nissho Iwai Corp. (three percent), and Korea Gas Corporation (five percent). In December, Rasgas was chosen to supply 7.5 million tonnes a year of LNG to India's Petronet LNG, for a period of 25 years starting in 1999. In the same month, credit assessor Moody's Investors Service downgraded the rating of RasGas from Baa2 to Baa3 because of economic uncertainties in South Korea. "To match the growth of the Korean buyer's contractual obligations, market demand in Korea will need to grow to about 16.6 million tonnes in 2002, compared to 1998 consumption which has fallen to an estimated 11 million tonnes," said Moody's. Qatar, a country of just 522,000 people, four-fifths of whom are expatriates, sits on top of the world's third largest gas reserves after Russia and Iran. Despite predictions to the contrary, Qatar has not cancelled any of its gas projects, although many have been slowed down in the face of stagnant or retreating markets in Asia. The emirate is already struggling to offload current production of LNG and despite large contracts with Japan, Korea and India there is still substantial excess production. The government announced last week that it had reached agreement with Pakistan to speed up a three billion dollar project to build a 1,650-kilometre (1,000-mile) gas pipeline between the two countries. Originally mooted in 1991 the project would supply between one billion and two billion cubic feet (29 million and 58 million cubic metres) per day of natural gas from Qatar's huge offshore North Field to consumers in Pakistan. The emirate is also in negotiation with the UAE emirate of Dubai to supply between 23 and 29 million cubic metres (800 million and one billion cubic feet) of gas a day, to be delivered by pipeline.  