Qatargas to Complete Ras Laffan Sulphur Recovering Unit, AGRU Unit Addition by June 2013

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Qatargas (QGTS: QATAR) (Doha, Qatar) is set to add two new units to its Ras Laffan refinery by mid-2013. Qatar Liquefied Gas Company, a subsidiary of Qatargas, is currently executing a sulphur recovery unit and a pre-treatment acid gas removal unit as a part of its expansion plan under Plateau Maintenance Project at the Qatar Gas Plant -1at Ras Laffan.

The preliminary engineering work for the expansion units was initiated in May 2011 followed by the execution of the main construction in December 2011. The sulphur recovering unit and pre-treatment acid gas removal units are due to be operational by June 2013.

Chiyoda Corporation (6366.T) (Yokohama, Japan), which is in a joint venture with Technip (TECH.PA) (Paris, France), has bagged the engineering, procurement and construction contract for this project. The contract includes the construction of a pre-treatment acid gas removal unit and the sulphur recovering unit, along with certain modifications to utility systems for handling increased feed gas rates at the existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains at the Ras Laffan Plant.

Presently, the Qatar Gas-1 plant has three processing trains of 2.4 million tonnes per year capacity with three sulphur recovery units with a total capacity of 12,000 tonnes per day. The upcoming sulphur recovery unit will have a sulphur recovering capacity of 3,500 tonnes per day.

The Ras Laffan plant uses natural gas from the North Field reservoir as feedstock and exports the processed LNG to various countries such as Japan, Spain, Europe, Korea and the U.S. The Plateau Maintenance Project will facilitate increased feed gas rates from offshore wells and enlarge the onshore LNG plant capabilities.

The $1 billion Plateau Maintenance Project envisages stable gas production and the delivery of 10 million tonnes per annum of LNG by 2030.

Technip is a leader in the fields of project management, engineering and construction for the Oil & Gas industry.

Chiyoda Corporation, headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, provides services in the fields of engineering, procurement and construction globally for gas processing, refineries and other hydrocarbon and industrial projects in the Middle East and Russia.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.