RasGas Company Limited was a liquefied natural gas (LNG) producing company in Qatar. It was the second-biggest LNG producer in Qatar after QatarEnergy LNG.[1] RasGas operated seven LNG trains located in Ras Laffan Industrial City. It was merged with Qatargas on 1 January 2018.

RasGas
IndustryOil and gas
Founded1998
Defunct31 December 2017
Headquarters,
ProductsLiquefied natural gas
ParentQatarEnergy

RasGas also operated helium plants which produce 25% of the world's helium, and make Qatar the second largest helium exporter.[citation needed]

The chief executive officer of the company was Hamad Mubarak Al-Muhannadi.[2]

History edit

Ras Laffan LNG, commonly known as RasGas, was the name of one of the two initial LNG projects in Qatar, which were founded in and together with the Ras Laffan Industrial Complex in the 1990s. The project was initiated by Qatargas together with its partner ExxonMobil, and later also included other foreign investors. The project started production in 1999.[3] The company RasGas was then established in a joint stock company between QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil in 2001. It was set up as the operating company for the production facilities based in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar.[4][5]

During the early 2000s, RasGas started operating additional LNG facilities (LNG trains) and signed several long-term sales agreements with South Korea, India and other countries.[6][7]

Train 6 came online in October 2009, and was inaugurated on 27 October 2009.[8]Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, attended the ceremony.[9] Train 7 started production in February 2010.[10][11][12] Both trains produce 7.8 million tonnes of LNG per year and they among the largest LNG trains in the world.[12][13]

In 2007, RasGas started talks for a new gas project in order to meet continually growing local demand. In 2011, the company then closed a $10.5 billion financing deal for the Barzan Gas project, adding a gas production capacity of 1.4 bcf/day. Construction for the projects two trains began in 2011 and was expected to finish by late 2014 / early 2015. The project was then expected to come online in October 2016, but was further delayed because of technical challenges.[14][15][16][17]

In 2013, RasGas became the victim of a series of Cyberattacks, which together with attacks on Saudi Aramco and other companies, were attributed to Iran's "cybercorps".[18][19]

In 2016, RasGas celebrated its 10,000th LNG vessel loading at Ras Laffan Industrial City's port.[20]

Rasgas was merged with Qatargas on 1 January 2018. The merger had first been announced in 2016 and was implemented on time.[21]

Organization edit

From 2006 to 2011, Mohammed Saleh Al Sada served as the managing director of RasGas.[22]

Operations edit

RasGas operations consisted of the extraction, processing, liquefaction, storage and export of LNG and all associated derivatives from Qatars North Field.[4]

The company's seven LNG trains had a total capacity of 36.3 million tonnes of LNG per year.[10] Trains 1 and 2 were owned by Ras Laffan, and they have a combined capacity of 6.6 million tonnes of LNG per year. Ras Laffan (II) owns Trains 3, 4 and 5 with a capacity of 4.7 million tonnes of LNG per annum each.[23] Trains 6 and 7 are owned by Ras Laffan (3).

RasGas operated Helium 1 and Helium 2 helium plants. Helium 1 produces 660 million cubic feet per year (19 million cubic metres per year) of liquid helium, which is approximately 10 percent of the world's total helium production.[24] Helium 2 is the world's largest helium refining facility. It produces 1.3 billion cubic feet per year (37 million cubic metres per year) of liquid helium.[25] Together, these two plants now produce 25% of the world's helium, making Qatar the second largest world helium exporter, after the U.S.[26]

RasGas also operated the Al Khaleej Gas Projects, AKG-1 and AKG-2, which supply a daily average of around 2.0 billion cubic feet (57 million cubic metres) at standard conditions to Qatar's network of pipelines, delivering gas for the growing domestic market.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Marinho, Helder (2009-10-07). "QatarGas, Exxon LNG Venture to Reach 100% This Month". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  2. ^ "Interview: Hamad Mubarak Al Muhannadi". Oxford Business Group. 31 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Tiny Gulf Emirate May Have a 200-Year Supply". The New York Times. July 23, 1997. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "RasGas". Qatar Petroleum. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  5. ^ "Qatar Pursues Natural-Gas Deals". The Wall Street Journal. July 14, 2003. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  6. ^ "Petronet LNG Eyes More LNG from Qatar". The Wall Street Journal. December 29, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  7. ^ Malek, Miriam (January 15, 2016). "Pakistan Drops Shell From LNG Deal for Qatar". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  8. ^ "Celebration time for RasGas". Gulf Times. 2009-10-27. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  9. ^ "Qatar inaugurates new LNG production line". Mena Report. Al Bawaba. 2009-10-27. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  10. ^ a b "RasGas sets Train 7 in motion". Upstream Online. NHST Media Group. 2010-02-24. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  11. ^ Robert Tuttle (2010-02-24). "Qatar's RasGas Starts Producing LNG From Train 7". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  12. ^ a b Simon Webb; Regan Doherty (2010-02-24). "Qatar's RasGas starts LNG output from new facility". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-02-24.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Perumal, Santhosh V. (2009-02-19). "RasGas gets boost from two 'mega' projects". Gulf Times. Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  14. ^ "Hitachi halts UK nuclear project as energy supply crunch looms". Reuters. January 17, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  15. ^ "How Qatar is building for growth in LNG". The Oil & Gas Year. June 4, 2015. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  16. ^ "Nineteen people still missing after deadly militant attack in Kenya -Red Cross". Reuters. January 17, 2019. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  17. ^ "CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Gas leak delays start-up of Qatar's Barzan gas project - sources". Reuters. October 17, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  18. ^ "New Computer Attacks Traced to Iran, Officials Say". The New York Times. May 24, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  19. ^ "Cyberattacks Against U.S. Corporations Are on the Rise". The New York Times. May 12, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  20. ^ "Qatar Petroleum marks LNG milestone". The Oil & Gas Year. May 11, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ "Qatargas, RasGas merger completed". The Oil & Gas Year. January 3, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^ "Qatar replaces energy minister". Al Jazeera. January 18, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  23. ^ "RasGas getting Train 5 on track". Upstream Online. NHST Media Group. 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  24. ^ "RasGas Helium Plant Achieves Production Capacity". Downstream Today. 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  25. ^ "Qatar's Helium 2 plant opening makes it world's largest exporter". The Edge. 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  26. ^ Air Liquide and Linde in Helium Hunt as Texas Reserves Dry Up, Bloomberg, 2014 [1]

External links edit

25°53′27″N 51°32′33″E / 25.89083°N 51.54250°E / 25.89083; 51.54250