By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 17 -- Qatar Petroleum Co. and ExxonMobil Corp., joint partners in the Qatargas II LNG expansion project at Ras Laffan Industrial City, have awarded a contract to GE Energy, Florence, for the supply of liquefaction train equipment.
GE will supply three gas turbine-driven compression strings for main refrigerant duty, the first application of these units in LNG refrigeration service, GE said. It also will provide full-load string testing and spare parts. The liquefaction train will be rated for a capacity of 7.8 million tonnes/year. Shipment of the units will begin in November 2005.
The equipment will be installed at the existing Qatargas LNG plant, which has been operating since 1996 and where three existing trains each produce more than 8 million tonnes/year of LNG (OGJ Online, July 11, 2003).
In the expansion, Qatargas II will utilize the new AP-XÔ liquefaction process from Air Products & Chemicals Inc., GE said.
The Qatargas II project, which also includes an offshore development, a fleet of large capacity LNG carriers, and a regasification terminal, will supply the UK market with LNG. Startup of the first train is planned for the winter of 2007. Qatar Petroleum has said LNG exports from the facility are expected to exceed 45 million tonnes/year by 2010.
Qatar Petroleum owns 70% of the project and ExxonMobil 30%.
