RasGas

History

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. 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.

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.

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

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.

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".

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

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

Organization

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

Operations

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

The company's seven LNG trains had a total capacity of 36.3 million tonnes of LNG per year. Trains 6 and 7 are owned by Ras Laffan (3).

RasGas operated Helium 1 and Helium 2 helium plants. Helium 1 produces 660 e6ft3/year of liquid helium, which is approximately 10 percent of the world's total helium production. Helium 2 is the world's largest helium refining facility. It produces 1.3 e9ft3/year of liquid helium. Together, these two plants now produce 25% of the world's helium, making Qatar the second largest world helium exporter, after the U.S.

RasGas also operated the Al Khaleej Gas Projects, AKG-1 and AKG-2, which supply a daily average of around 2.0 e9ft3 at standard conditions to Qatar's network of pipelines, delivering gas for the growing domestic market.

References

References

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2. (31 July 2016). "Interview: Hamad Mubarak Al Muhannadi".
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6. (December 29, 2009). "Petronet LNG Eyes More LNG from Qatar". The Wall Street Journal.
7. (January 15, 2016). "Pakistan Drops Shell From LNG Deal for Qatar". Wall Street Journal.
8. (2009-10-27). "Celebration time for RasGas". Gulf Times.
9. (2009-10-27). "Qatar inaugurates new LNG production line". [[Al Bawaba]].
10. (2010-02-24). "RasGas sets Train 7 in motion". NHST Media Group.
11. Robert Tuttle. (2010-02-24). "Qatar's RasGas Starts Producing LNG From Train 7". [[Bloomberg L.P..
12. Simon Webb; Regan Doherty. (2010-02-24). "Qatar's RasGas starts LNG output from new facility". [[Reuters]].
13. Perumal, Santhosh V.. (2009-02-19). "RasGas gets boost from two 'mega' projects". Gulf Times.
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17. (October 17, 2016). "CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Gas leak delays start-up of Qatar's Barzan gas project - sources". Reuters.
18. (May 24, 2013). "New Computer Attacks Traced to Iran, Officials Say". The New York Times.
19. (May 12, 2013). "Cyberattacks Against U.S. Corporations Are on the Rise". The New York Times.
20. (May 11, 2016). "Qatar Petroleum marks LNG milestone". The Oil & Gas Year.
21. (January 3, 2018). "Qatargas, RasGas merger completed". The Oil & Gas Year.
22. (January 18, 2011). "Qatar replaces energy minister". Al Jazeera.
23. (2007-03-05). "RasGas getting Train 5 on track". NHST Media Group.
24. (2008-02-20). "RasGas Helium Plant Achieves Production Capacity". Downstream Today.
25. (2013-12-15). "Qatar's Helium 2 plant opening makes it world's largest exporter". The Edge.
26. Air Liquide and Linde in Helium Hunt as Texas Reserves Dry Up, Bloomberg, 2014 [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-10/air-liquide-and-linde-in-helium-hunt-as-texas-reserves-dry-up]