AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2007. ISSUE NO.

114

THE

PIONEER
The magazine of Qatargas Operating Company Limited

Mission critical: getting ready to

deliver 42 MTPA of LNG
 Scorecard 2007
Net LNG Production 2007 Field Condensate Production 2007

50000 600000 20000 20000

45000 18000

( K B B l s )
( T b t u )
500000 1600
40000 16000

( K B B l S )
( T b t u )

35000 14000
400000

30000 1200 12000

C u m u l a t i v e

C u m u l a t i v e
25000 300000 10000
M o n t h l y

M o n t h l y
20000 800 8000

200000
15000 6000

10000 400 4000

100000
5000 2000

0 0 0 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Budget Cumulative Budget Budget Cumulative Budget

Actual Cumulative Actual Actual Cumulative Actual

Qatargas SEQ Monthly Safety Statistics

Event Description Qatargas Contractors Our aim is to create an “Incident
and Injury Free” site at Qatargas.
Date of last LTA 1-Jul-02 26-Apr-03
However, for statistical purposes,
Days worked since last Lost Time Accident 1,
1,856 1,557 targets for motor vehicle incidents

Personnel hours worked since last Lost Time Injury 11,359,024

,024 8,005,921 and medical treatments are based
on Year 2002 actual figures.
Hours worked since last Lost Time Injury (04-26-03) 17,588,716
Except for Near Miss Reports, we
encourage reporting of all near
QG 2007
Event Description Qatargas Contractors misses so that the hazardous condi-
Business
tions can be eradicated as soon as
Current Year to Plan Targets Current Year to
Month Date Month Date possible, through corrective actions.

Number of Lost Time Accidents (LTA) 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total near miss cases also include
Number of Medical Treatment Cases (MTC) 0 2 0 0 1 4 those derived from different catego-
Number of Occupational Illnesses (OI) 0 2 0 0 1 2 ries of incidents/accidents reported
Number of First Aid Cases (FAC) 1 4 0 0 1 6 such as medical treatment, first aid,

Number of Off the Job Injuries (OJI) 0 1 0 N/A

minor/major fire, vehicle incidents,
spill/release etc.
Number of Major Fires 0 0 0 N/A N/A

Number of Minor Fires 0 5 0 N/A These derived near misses were

Number of Vehicle Incidents 0 1 0 0 0 5 also included in the “Total
Number of Env. Releases 0 1 0 N/A Near-Miss reports” due to their

Number of Env. Spills 0 3 0 N/A

potential to escalate into more
serious incidents.
Number of Moderate to High Risk Potential Incidents 2 40 100 N/A N/A

Number of Incident Notification 24 185 > 275 Please note the attached graphs
Number of STOP cards 40 1781 > 4000 giving an annualized overview of
Days Lost due to LTA 0 0 0 0 KPI statistics

Hours Worked this Month 187,680 75,168

Hours Worked this Year 1,167,944 416,672

Hours Worked combined (QG/Contractor) 1,584,616

Industry
Year to Date Benchmark Year to Date

LTA Frequency Rate 0.00 0.20 0.00

LTA Severity Rate 0.00 2.40 0.00

Total Recordable Incident Rate 0.34 N/A 1.92

Published by: The Public Relations Department, Qatargas Operating Company Limited., P. O. Box 22666, Doha, Qatar
Tel: (974) 4736 000, Fax: 4736 666, Website: www.qatargas.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying or otherwise without the prior permission of the Public Relations Department, Qatargas Operating Company Limited.
 CEO Address

Team work:
the key to our success
In September 2006 Qatargas established operations, and maintenance from Qatargas. tasks that need to be completed prior to
the Expansion Startup Group (ESU) We are also in the process of hiring startup. These cover the necessary staffing,
reporting to the Chief Operating Officer– hundreds of experienced operations and infrastructure, processes, procedures,
Operations. This new organization was maintenance personnel from around the equipment, materials, and competency to
created to focus on the vital task of starting world who work in the pre-commissioning, support ongoing operations. We are getting
up all the new facilities associated with the commissioning, and startup phases. They ready to take on new businesses, assets,
expansion ventures and achieving stable will go on to form the nucleus of the people and ways of doing things.
operations to handover to the ongoing ongoing operating organization. Over
Recently, we established a “BTPO
operating organizations. 200 of these new employees have already
Council”, which I chair, with team
arrived and are contributing to this effort.
Mr. Abdelkader Haouari has been membership comprising of the Chief
We have also hired many highly experienced
appointed Expansion Start Up (“ESU”) Operating Officers and other key department
personnel in the areas of training and
Manager to lead this effort. He has managers to address readiness activities.
procedure development to develop the
extensive experience in operations We meet fortnightly to discuss our readiness
systems to ensure the competency of the
management, project commissioning and status and actions that we can take to
staff that will be executing the startup.
startup. assist the organization. I am personally
Once the new facilities are started up and committed to ensuring the appropriate
The ESU will focus on starting up
operating in a stable fashion, they will be resources are in place to complete all the
the four new LNG trains (QG2, QG3,
turned over from ESU to the ongoing Asset BTPO activities and to remove any barriers
QG4), the Laffan Refinery, the offshore
Team for day-to-day operations. I have to achieving our readiness targets.
wellheads feeding the four new trains, and
great confidence in ESU’s ability to achieve
the common facilities that support these All of us in Qatargas have a role to
their stated mission safely.
expansions. play in this process, no matter what
This is a significant challenge and will organization or department we are assigned
The mission of the Expansion Startup
take the best efforts not only of the ESU to. Although there remains much work to
Group is to:
organization but all of Qatargas to ensure do, I am confident that we can complete our
• Support the pre-commissioning and
readiness for future operations prior to readiness deliverables according to plan.
commissioning of all of the new
startup.
facilities Through achieving our BTPO goals and
• Execute a flawless startup for each of Qatargas established a process in 2005 flawless startups of these expansion projects,
the new facilities called BTPO (“Building the Producing we will be one step closer to achieving our
Organization”) to ensure that we are vision. I look forward to working with you
• Prepare for the future operations
prepared in every respect for start up and to achieve this vision.
• Capture lessons learnt to assist in future
to be able to successfully maintain reliable
projects and startups
operations thereafter. Working with our
We have staffed the Expansion Startup Business Development Manager and the
Organization with highly experienced BTPO Advisors every function developed Faisal M. Al Suwaidi
personnel in commissioning, startup, detailed readiness plans that outline the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

www.qatargas.com August - September 2007 - Issue No. 114 | The Pioneer | 3

 TEAMWORK

Mission critical: getting ready to deliver

42 MTPA of LNG
The Expansion Start Up Group was established with a critical mission in
mind, to ensure that Qatargas can safely and flawlessly start four new
trains, the Laffan Refinery and associated support facilities.
This is a huge undertaking that complete the Building the Producing years this group will be responsible
requires many different parts of the Organization (BTPO) initiative to for the start up of not only the LNG
organization to be ready to take on the ensure that we are ready for the start- trains but also LPG and condensate
challenges of expanded operations as up of the trains and refinery. streams, the six offshore unmanned
well as the equipment itself. platforms, the four pipelines for water,
If you drive around the site at
The Expansion Start Up Group Ras Laffan City it is easy to see the gas and condensate which are up to
(ESU) is working in close coordination magnitude of the challenges faced 80 kilometres long and many common
with many others in Qatargas to by ESU Group. Over the next three support facilities.

Aerial view of refinery piperacks

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 TEAMWORK

Sulfur recovery area Inspecting the Qatargas 2 fare tip

Also within the remit of the ESU result in a total of 18 tanks and 200 tie- gas can be processed into LNG. The
is the startup of the Laffan Refinery. ins to the existing facilities. sulfur plant takes the elemental sulfur
This refinery will treat and refine the In addition, the team will start up the extracted from the feedstock gas by the
field condensate that will be produced common sulfur facility. This is critical LNG trains and converts it into solid
into products such as naphtha, diesel to the operation of the expansion pellets which are loaded into ships for
etc. The refinery project also includes trains since the feedstock gas from the transport to market. The common sulfur
a major revamp and expansion of the North Field is high in hydrogen sulfide, facility will process all of the sulfur
condensate tank farm area which will which must be removed before the produced by the plants at Ras Laffan.

Aerial view of train 6

www.qatargas.com August - September 2007 - Issue No. 114 | The Pioneer | 5

 TEAMWORK

The startup will be done in stages to

match not only the Qatargas expansions
but also the expansions at RasGas and
Al Khaleej Gas, and the new plants such
as Pearl GTL and Barzan.

The last but one of the most

important pieces in this puzzle is the
common LNG storage and loading
facility. The ESU Group must make
sure that the tanks which will store
up to 140,000 cubic metres of LNG
each are ready to receive LNG from
the new trains. The LNG will be piped
from these storage tanks to newly
constructed loading berths and arms
at Ras Laffan Port. This common
facility will also store LNG produced by
RasGas Trains 6 and 7. As with all of
the other new facilities, these tanks and
LNG tank farm
loading berths will be handed over to
ESU for start-up once commissioning is
completed.

Big challenges require

good team work
The ESU Group led by
Mr. AbdulKader Haouari, is comprised
of different teams all responsible for
their part of the flawless start-up and
handover of these new facilities to the
Operations Team. Many teams have
to work together to make this possible
including the Maintenance Division,
HSE, Qatargas 2 Upstream and
Downstream divisions, Offsites Team
Division (responsible for Common
Sulfur, LNG and Liquid berths),
Qatargas 3 & 4 Division, Refinery
Train 6 compressor housing Operations and various teams such

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 TEAMWORK

as HSE, Maintenance and Support

Divisions.

Together these teams are responsible

for achieving a flawless startup as well
as ensuring that all the pieces work
together to operate reliably for the long
term. The team is committed to doing
this work safely, minimizing the impact
to the environment from flaring and
achieving production and reliability
targets. At its peak over 800 people
will be working together within ESU to
make this start-up possible.

The team does face some tough

challenges including recruiting
and on-boarding hundreds of new
employees from around the world,
interactions with multiple teams, sites
and shareholders and the overlapping Qatargas 2 slug catcher
schedules of many of the projects.

The BTPO initiative is assisting the

ESU and the Operating Company to
identify and overcome these challenges.
The initiative has identified common
issues and start-up critical activities
that need to be managed by the
project teams, QG Opco divisions and
ESU Group in order to start-up the
projects. For each a plan has been
developed with detailed deliverables
which are reviewed regularly by senior
management in a specially convened
council.

The ESU Group is at the front line

of these challenges but the whole
organization is needed to make the
commissioning, start-up and eventual
operation of the expansion projects a
success. Train 5 Sulfur recovery units

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 TEAMWORK

First Train 4 Startup Milestone

The first step towards the successful
startup of Train 4 was recently achieved
when the first electrical substation (29-
SS2902) was successfully energized.
This was a credit to the careful planning
and cooperation between ESU, the Project
Team, and CTJV. The highest standards of
construction and safety were adhered to by
all involved.
This substation supplies 6.6 kV of power
to all critical equipment in the Utilities
including, instrument air compressors, boiler
feed-water pumps, high pressure steam
boilers, steam turbine generators, etc. This
equipment is needed to support Train 4.
The substation will also provide the lower
ESU Management Team and Substation Operations/Maintenance Team inside substation
voltage power required for lighting and
other auxiliaries. Train 4 requires about protection systems which are housed in a until the main substation is ready for
120 MW of power obtained by generation fully-pressurized building to protect the startup.
from the steam turbine generators. equipment from weather conditions and any This startup was led by the Upstream
The equipment and controls in this plant releases. This substation is temporarily Division Manager Mansoor Al-Marzooqi and
substation have sophisticated integrated being powered by portable diesel generators Utilities Startup Head Mahmoud Mokhtar.

ESU new milestone

On the 6th of August the first cargo of
condensate of Dolphin Energy was safely
and successfully loaded on the new berth
21 in Ras Laffan port. On the same day,
a celebration cake was shared between
participants that included Qatargas, Dolphin,
Medgulf and RLIC representatives. The
achievement shows how complex interfaces
can be successfully managed amongst
different groups in Ras Laffan by following
good communication and teams work. Once
the start-up of the adjacent berth 20 is
completed, the QG Expansion Start-Up team
will handover the operation internally to Ras
Laffan Terminal Operations team.

8 | The Pioneer| August - September 2007 - Issue No. 114 www.qatargas.com

 PEOPLE

Employee interviews
In January 1997, Qatargas delivered Qatargas success story began long before putting Qatargas on the world LNG map is
its first LNG cargo to Japan. Over ten the first LNG delivery. The hard work and irrefutable. ‘The Pioneer’ talks to some of
years have passed since this historic dedication of the people involved in the the longest serving employees – pioneers
milestone and we are celebrating ‘A Decade project in the early days turned the Qatargas – about themselves and about Qatargas
of Achievement’ in 2007. However the dream into reality. Their contribution to from their perspective.

Edward Borges
Field Logistics Supervisor
“I have been with Qatargas since
January 1994.
My job involves providing support to
North Field Bravo (NFB) operations from
shore. I am responsible for all cargo and
personnel movements to offshore.
The management system of ‘continuous
improvement’ adopted by the company
has made it one of the best companies to
work for.
I am glad that I work at Qatargas.
We have an excellent CEO, a great
management team, good salaries and
benefits.”

Anirduddha Madhukar Ghaisas

Plant Safety Officer
“Over 12 years have passed since I
started working with Qatargas.
As a Plant Safety Officer, I do my part
in ensuring the safety of people. This
involves proactive measures like the
Incident and Injury Free (IIF) program
and reactive procedures like incident
investigation, TapRoot investigation etc.
I am proud of Mr. Faisal Al-Suwaidi, our
CEO. I think the company has a bright
future. Qatargas provides us with an
excellent housing community, reasonable
package, job security and peace of mind.
I am glad to be in Qatargas. I have I am happy to have moved to the opportunities to make this place safer.
progressed in my career. I have managed Safety Department and gained additional There is a lot of freedom to work. I enjoy
to build a good financial base for myself. qualifications. Time and again I get working here.”

www.qatargas.com August - September 2007 - Issue No. 114 | The Pioneer | 9

 PEOPLE

Mohammad Yaseen
Business Systems Specialist
“I have been a Qatargas employee for
more than 13 years.

My job involves working closely with

the IT Department to develop SAP
systems based on business requirements.
I belong to the Finance Group and I am
the link and focal point between Finance
and IT. I support Finance to develop
business systems (best practices and
recommendation from shareholders) and
liaise with IT to have these automated.

I am proud of the Qatargas brand and

the management. All the departments To me Qatargas is already a world place to be, and I am glad I am here.
that I have worked in have taken good class company as it has a good senior Moreover, I enjoy the respect and trust
care of my career. I can’t imagine myself management team with a clear vision, with I earned here which I will not trade for
working anywhere else. all the developments going around, it is the any thing else.”

Ejaz Ali
Head of Maintenance Planning/
Shutdowns/Reliability
“I have been with Qatargas for 12
years.

Maintenance planning, managing

shutdowns and looking after assets
performance management are the
principal aspects of my job.

The work environment at Qatargas

is excellent. The full support of the
management on key issues and the
world class housing provided by the I am proud to have played a role strength to become the leading LNG
company are also things I am proud of. in Qatargas’ growth from strength to company in the world.”

Lawrence Collins My job is to set the standards and and data) that will ensure the safe
specifications that are necessary to start-up and ongoing operations and
Head of Corporate Documentation
ensure that Qatargas will receive maintenance of a Qatargas operated
“I have been working at Qatargas for from an EPC contractor a technical facility. Implementing the systems and
the past thirteen years. knowledge base (documents, drawings business processes that are necessary

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 PEOPLE

to ensure that knowledge base remains

current for the life of the facilities, and
is protected from unauthorized access
or change is another aspect of my job.

In early 1994 Qatargas was an

embryonic organization with less than
70 permanent staff, it was a fragmented
organization with very few systems and
business processes in place. To the rest
of the world it was an unknown entity
with no presence individual identity or
credibility in the global market place.
Over the intervening years it has grown
to become a cohesive and dynamic that many long established organizations built from nothing an organization
organization, a world leader in its field struggle to match. Qatargas presented that has become an industry world
of operation, with an enviable record me with a unique once in a lifetime leader.”
for reliability and customer satisfaction opportunity, to be part of a process that

Elias Thomas
LNG Sales Administrator
“The Section I work for is responsible
for administering various LNG Sales
Contracts. We are responsible for
producing LNG Cargo Documentation,
issuing LNG cargo invoices, price
notifications, review of various sales
agreements, confirmation notices
etc. After the execution of the sales
agreements my department acts as the
main communication window with the
Buyers. My role is to provide execution supplier”. I am very proud that I had the The transparency of management
support of the above activities. opportunity to be a contributor to this activities, open communication

As one of the ‘pioneers’ in the great achievement from the early stages opportunities like Town Hall Meetings,

company, it was a great experience to of the project. employee welfare activities, support

see the physical growth of the company The thing I like most about Qatargas is for family and children’s activities
and I am sure we can meet our vision the cordial working atmosphere amongst especially in the Al Khor Community
of being “the World’s leading LNG a multi-national workforce. are other positives.”

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 PEOPLE

Qatargas recognizes long serving

employees

Qatargas organized two events to with Qatargas were presented with Officer of Qatargas Operating Company
recognize its employees for their long ‘Long Service Awards’ during the two Limited, Mr. Faisal M. Al-Suwaidi. The
and continuous years of service with ceremonies held at the Sheraton Doha ceremonies started with a speech by Mr.
the company. Employees who have Hotel in July. The awards were presented Al-Suwaidi during which he thanked
completed five and ten years of service by the Chairman and Chief Executive everyone for their contribution to the

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 PEOPLE

“Greater challenges lie ahead but I am confident that with your continued support
and commitment, we will achieve our goals”
- Faisal Al-Suwaidi, Chairman & CEO

success of Qatargas and urged them challenges to reach where we are today. continued support and commitment, we
to keep up the good work. Mr. Faisal All of this would not have been possible will achieve our goals.” The ceremony
Al Suwaidi said; “Qatargas is recognized without the hard work and dedication ended with an international-style buffet
today as a safe and reliable supplier LNG of our staff. Even greater challenges lie dinner and was also attended by senior
to the world. We have overcome many ahead but I am confident that with your managers of Qatargas.

www.qatargas.com August - September 2007 - Issue No. 114 | The Pioneer | 13

 EVENTS

Formation of the Qatargas 4 joint venture

company and the signing of the LNG sale
and purchase agreement
On July 11, Qatar Petroleum (QP) and
Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) announced
the incorporation of Qatar Liquefied Gas
Company Limited (4), a joint venture
between an affiliate of QP (70%) and an
affiliate of Shell (30%), which will own the
Qatargas 4 project’s onshore and offshore
assets. At the same event, this newly formed
joint venture company signed a sale and
purchase agreement (SPA) with a Shell
affiliate as buyer of all the LNG volume
produced by this large-scale project.

The SPA was signed on behalf of

Qatargas 4 by His Excellency Abdullah bin
Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Premier and
Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar
and Qatar Petroleum Chairman, and by December 2005 and construction activities producer of LNG and help us meet our
Linda Cook, Shell’s Executive Director Gas & are progressing well in Ras Laffan. First LNG production target of 77 million tonnes per
Power. Also present at the signing was Faisal cargoes are scheduled for delivery around the annum. Qatargas 4 also exemplifies our
Bin Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Chairman and end of the decade. successful and growing partnership with Shell
Chief Executive Officer of Qatargas Operating and I strongly commend the project team for
Qatargas 4 LNG volumes are intended to
Company Limited. their efforts in reaching this milestone.”
flow primarily into natural gas markets in
The Qatargas 4 project comprises the eastern United States. Shell has arranged Faisal Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Qatargas
upstream gas production facilities to for capacity at the Elba Island LNG import Operating Company and the CEO of
produce approximately 1.4 billion cubic terminal as well as in the new Elba Express Qatargas 4, added, “Today is truly a tribute to
feet per day of natural gas, including an natural gas pipeline to receive and regasify hard work and strong partnership. With the
average of approximately 24,000 bbl/d of the LNG exported to the United States. incorporation of the Qatargas 4 joint venture
LPG and 46,000 bbl/d of condensate from Speaking at the event, His Excellency and the signing of the LNG SPA, the project
Qatar's North Field over the 25-year life Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy continues to meet its targets and is well on
of the project. The integrated project also Premier and Minister of Energy and its way towards a successful completion.
includes a 7.8 million tonnes-per-annum Industry of Qatar said, “Today’s event marks Qatargas 4 truly represents the vision,
liquefaction plant and the required LNG the conclusion of all major commercial dedication and excellence of the Qatargas
shipping capability. The main engineering, agreements for the Qatargas 4 project. This family to world-scale LNG projects and fully
procurement and construction contract impressive undertaking will further cement aligns with our commitment to help fuel the
for onshore facilities was awarded in Qatar’s position as the world’s leading world with clean energy.”

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 EVENTS

Qatargas 4 to utilize eight of Nakilat’s

LNG Carriers
At a signing ceremony on July 11, the construction of four “Q-Flex” and Nakilat’s fleet, which is still under
Qatar Petroleum transferred to Qatar four “Q-Max” class vessels. It is the construction, will comprise some 25 LNG
Liquefied Gas Company Limited (4) the intention that these vessels will be used carriers scheduled to come into service
time charter parties for eight liquefied by Qatargas 4 to transport its liquefied over the next four years. The vessels will
natural gas (LNG) vessels following be used to transport LNG not only for the
natural gas to market.
the company’s recent formation. These Qatargas 4 project, but also for Qatargas
charter parties were signed in February Mr. Faisal M. Al Suwaidi, Chairman
2 (Train 5), Qatargas 3 (Train 6) and
2007 with Qatar Gas Transport Company and Chief Executive Officer of Qatargas RasGas III (Train 7). Qatargas Liquefied
(Nakilat) who will own the eight vessels. Operating Company Limited said; “The Gas Company Limited (4) – referred to as
signing today of these agreements is Qatargas 4 - is a joint venture company
This follows the signing by Nakilat in
February 2007, of contracts with two another step forward in the delivery of between Qatar Petroleum and Shell and
Korean Shipyards - Samsung Heavy these world-class projects. These ships the incorporation of the company was
Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding will deliver energy to our customers marked by a signing ceremony earlier on
& Marine Engineering Company – for reliably and safely.” the same day.

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 UPDATES

Qatargas 2 manages SPM project for

offshore loading of Ras Laffan condensate
Driven primarily by the need to reduce QG3/QG4, RL1, RLII, RLIII, and AKG 1 and
2, the joint venture companies operating in
cables which will be laid on both sides of the
potential congestion in the RLC port, pipeline. Dedicated support vessels at the
the loading operations of all Ras Laffan RLC. The QGII Common Facilities Project is offshore site will assist with tanker docking
Condensate is being relocated to remote responsible for managing the engineering and and floating hose hook-up, and provide
offshore facilities. This would also allow construction of the SPM and after mechanical maintenance to the CALM buoy systems.
easy loading of the VLCC (Very Large completion will turn over the facilities to Export of condensate is projected to ramp up
Crude Carriers) without any additional RasGas who has been selected to operate it. fairly quickly and reach an offload demand
modifications that may have been required to The SPM will be located approximately 60 of about 500,000 bbls per day. The facility is
the port due to any draft limitations. km offshore from RLC, and will be capable designed to operate for 30 years.

The RLC SPM (Single Point Mooring) of offloading 1 million bbls per day of
The EPC contractor for the CALM
facility will provide a strategic outlet condensate at a pumping rate of 8000 m3/hr
buoy systems is Bluewater; the offshore
for all field condensate produced in Ras (about 55,000 bbls/hour). The offshore
installation contractor is J.R.McDermmott;
Laffan. This SPM facility will not only component of the facility consists of two
and the onshore installation contractor is
increase condensate marketability and CALM Buoys (Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring)
a consortium formed by WGI & Al-Jaber.
shipping flexibility, it will result in a price and two PLEMs (Pipe Line End Manifold),
Fabrication of both CALM buoy systems
connected by a two km long jumper line.
uplift, thereby increasing revenues for the was recently completed by Bluewater at
Condensate from the onshore storage facility
stakeholders. SPM assures condensate export the Gulf Piping yard in Abu Dhabi. To date,
is transported to the SPM via a 42” diameter
capacity in the 2008-2009 timeframe by J.R.McDermmott has successfully completed
pipeline. As the condensate flows to the
reducing potential congestion in the RLC port the shore crossing and layed about 20 km of
offshore CALM buoy, floating hoses transfer
and associated bottlenecks in the shipping offshore pipeline. The onshore portion of the
the condensate to the offloading tanker’s
channel. The SPM facility, together with
storage tanks. The onshore component of the facilities, which includes installation of about
RLC’s existing and new harbor facilities, will
SPM system consists of eight storage tanks, 3 km of 42” pipeline across the congested
create world class capability and flexibility
export pumps, control room, and the onshore RLC landscape, and tie-in to the onshore
for loading condensate in the world fleet of
extension of the 42” pipeline. Because loading and storage facilities, is slightly
Aframax, Suezmax, and VLCC tankers.
of the distance between the onshore and ahead of schedule. Mechanical completion
The Common SPM facility at RLC will be offshore components of the facility, primary for this portion of the SPM facilities is on
jointly owned and shared by QG1, QGII, communication is by redundant fiber optic track for November, 2007.

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 UPDATES

Laffan Refinery project finds itself more

than half way completed
I n June 2005 Laffan Refinery Co.
signed the EPSCC contracts for the
detailed engineering, procurement, supply,
construction, and commissioning with
the consortium of GS & Daewoo for the
construction of the Laffan Refinery
At present, the project finds itself more
than half way completed which puts it
slightly ahead of schedule for completion in
early autumn of 2008.
To ensure the work is on schedule, the
contractor undertook to recruit additional
construction workers and supervisors. Also,
a total reorganization of the contractor’s
construction teams was undertaken to
better adapt to the local environment thus
leading to a better progress of the works.
In addition to improving the contractor’s
performance, Project Management Team On the Refinery Process work site all In addition to the main Refinery area and
(PMT) and the Contractor have adopted major equipment and materials have now the Tank Farm there is also an Amine area
the “One Team” concept. The concept is been transported to site with the ongoing and major pipe-work to be accomplished on
that both parties are functioning towards a fabrication of piping and vessel/column the Lee Breakwater and Jetty. In addition a
common objective which is on-time flawless erection now the main focus of the work. recent variation order was issued to design-
startup, with no further downgrading The largest column - Condensate Tower build a gantry loading facility to supply local
incidents. Both groups understand that C1201 - will be erected by the end of August market. These facilities will also be ready for
the success of the project depends on an 2007. summer 2008 startup.
integrated team performance.
While the work in general is focused on Mr. Salman Ashkanani, Refinery Venture
The key to the Laffan Refinery Project's the Tank Farm, a major effort is underway Manager said “We are well on our way to
eventual success is the successful to ensure there is no slippage in the Refinery create the history of successfully completing
completion of the Tank Farm. The tank one of our many projects in a record time
construction schedule so that once the Tank
farm will allow the transfer of products to frame and safely. The safety records already
Farm is in startup mode, the construction
the new storage tanks while the existing achieved on the project demonstrate the
workforce can be shifted to the Refinery to
tanks at RasGas and Qatargas are being level of management commitment to
ensure it is ready for completion in early
refurbished. Five of the 80,000 cubic meters our Incident and Injury Free concept. I
autumn of 2008.
storage each are already erected and either am pleased with the safe, rapid progress
being painted, tested, or punch-listed at The most immediate upcoming milestones achieved by Laffan Refinery on all fronts of
this time. While the startup date for the on the project will be the energization of the implementation. I would like to compliment
Tank Farm is challenging to achieve, the substations. This is slated to occur in late the entire Laffan Refinery & Contractor
joint PMT/Contractor team working there August or early September 2007. The PMT project teams for a successful lift-off of the
has risen to the challenge and will do their & Contractor teams are working closely with project. The team is now fully equipped to
utmost to ensure the work is completed on Karhamaa to ensure power can be turned on sustain the rapid pace of construction in the
time. for testing at that time. coming quarters.”

www.qatargas.com August - September 2007 - Issue No. 114 | The Pioneer | 17

 SOCIAL INVESTMENT

Qatargas recognizes fourth annual plant

design winners

On 8th July, a special ceremony was by SASOL Chevron (South Africa) and LNG Engineering and Ventures, Qatargas. “We
held at the Qatargas headquarters building plant, sponsored by Air Products (USA). are very pleased to sponsor this award.
in Ras Laffan to recognize the winners of The winners were picked by a panel Partnerships such as these between
the 4th annual plant design award course. of judges after the teams made detailed universities and industry will help students
The award was instituted by Qatargas in presentations covering all aspects of to become professionals and meet the
2004 in partnership with Qatar University their designs including the technology future needs of industry in the country.”

with the intent of giving students the employed, equipment, economical he said.

opportunity to work on a plant design feasibility and profitability. Speaking on behalf of the university,
project relevant to industry. The judging panel comprised of senior Mr. Farid Benyahia, Head of Chemical
representatives from the four sponsoring Engineering said; “We are very thankful
This year, a total of four teams
companies in addition to Henk Grootjans, for Qatargas’ continued support to our
participated in the event. The first prize
Head of Process and Facilities Engineering, department and encouragement to our
was awarded for the design of an ammonia
Qatargas, as the lead judge. Following the students. We believe that such initiatives
plant while the design of a Vinyl Chloride
evaluation session, Mr. Grootjans said; provide an opportunity for students to
plant collected the second prize. translate their theoretical knowledge into
“All the designs were excellent and the
The teams were provided with active presentations were of high quality. The practical engineering skills”.
support, guidance and mentoring from judges had a difficult task on hand to The Award is part of a long term
the sponsoring companies, Qatar Fertilizer decide the winners.” strategic partnership with the University
Company (QAFCO) and Qatar Vinyl The prizes were handed over to the designed to foster greater collaboration
Company (QVC) respectively. The other winning students by Sheikh Ahmed and co-operation between industry and
two designs were of GTL plant, sponsored Al-Thani, Chief Operating Officer, academia.

18 | The Pioneer| August - September 2007 - Issue No. 114 www.qatargas.com

 EVENTS

4th Annual Engineering Forum to be held

in November
The Qatargas Engineering Department Last year’s forum was a great success proposed presentation topic to J. Murty
will be hosting the 4th Annual with a total of 12 presentations being (jmurty@qatargas.com.qa), A. K. Attou
Engineering Forum in mid-November. made by engineers from Qatargas and (aattou@qatargas.com.qa) or Mike Martin
The intent of the Engineering Forum is other companies. The presentations
to provide an opportunity for Qatargas (jmartin@qatargas.com.qa) by September
covered a wide range of topics related to
engineers and their counterparts from 30. The technical presentation acceptance
the industry covering offshore, onshore
other local companies to make in-depth team from Qatargas will review the
and LNG shipping technologies.
technical presentations to their peers
Qatargas invites engineers who are submitted abstracts and finalize the
on topics which are relevant to oil, gas
and allied industries and share items of interested in making presentations agenda by mid-October.
technical merit. to e-mail a brief description of their

Qatargas organizes concert

in Ras Laffan
Q atargas recently held a specially Executive Officer said; “The safety of
organized concert titled ‘Beat the Heat’ all our contract workforce is paramount
for its contractor workforce, at the Asia for Qatargas. These great events while
City recreational complex in Ras Laffan. providing entertainment also help to
reinforce important and life saving
On June 28, bands from India and the
messages about safety.”
Philippines performed to a multi-national
audience of over 10,000 workers from the A specially designed stage set was built
Qatargas 3 and Qatargas 4 projects, all of for the event. This was complemented by
whom live in Ras Laffan’s accommodation extensive decoration and state-of-the-art
areas. sound and lighting systems. To ensure
safety, security and ambulance services
The programme started in the early were on stand-by throughout the night.
evening and ran until midnight. Popular
The concert was officially opened by
Filipino group, the ‘5 Point 2 Band’
Rick de Gaay Fortman, concert Organizer
and top Indian musicians, the ‘Freddy
for Qatargas 3 & 4 who said; “We are
Orchestra’ took turns to entertain
glad to see that so many people have
the crowd. In addition to the live
turned out for an evening of fun. We
entertainment, the audience was treated
believe that such events are important to
to snacks and drinks.
bring people together to be entertained
Commenting on the event, Mr. Faisal as well as hear important messages about
Al-Suwaidi, Qatargas Chairman and Chief safety.” Indian singer

www.qatargas.com August - September 2007 - Issue No. 114 | The Pioneer | 19

 IMAGES       

Expanding to fuel the world

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