Integrated Value-Chain Development and Advances in LNG TechnologyCreate World-Class Economies of Scale-The Qatar LNG Story

摘要

From the start-up of Qatargas in 1996, through RasGas Trainrn4, due to start up this year, Qatar LNG has continued to pushrnthe technology envelop and push further downstream throughrnthe value chain from reservoir, liquefaction, shipping,rnreceiving and ultimate gas sales to the consumer. The start uprnof RasGas Train 4 this year marked the first “full value chain”rnproject for Qatar.rnThe ultimate fulfillment of Qatar’s quest for scale andrnintegration comes with the Qatargas II LNG Project (QG II),rnan exciting project which encompasses the full value chainrnand incorporates new technology and economies of scalernunmatched in the LNG industry. The QGII story is one of thernintegration of technology qualification, value chainrnintegration, and the implementation strategies to reducernoverall LNG production/delivery cost by 25%, allowing Qatarrnto become competitive in more distant markets. Thernintegration of these strategies will be the primary focus of thisrnpaper.rnConceived by Qatar Petroleum (70%) and ExxonMobilrn(30%), the QGII project will expand the existing QatargasrnLNG facility at Ras Laffan, Qatar with the addition of twornLNG trains, significantly larger than any previously built.rnEach train will have an LNG production capacity ofrnapproximately 7.8 million tonne/yr (MTA). Feed gas willrncome from the North Field, the largest non-associated gasrnfield in the world. The onshore plant will extract LPGsrn(propane and butane), which will be fractionated andrnseparately exported from Ras Laffan. Lean LNG will berntransported using new, larger LNG ships. A new receivingrnterminal in the United Kingdom will re-gasify the LNG andrnsend out sales gas into the U. K. NTS (national gasrntransmission system).A challenging schedule has been set to achieve newrneconomies of scale, world-class air emissions performance,rnand the key project objectives of superior safety andrnenvironmental performance. First LNG sales in the U. K. arerntargeted for early 2008.