BY SACHIN KUMAR
DOHA: Qatar yesterday officially launched $1bn Jetty Boil-Off Gas Recovery (JBOG) project that will reduce burning of gas (or flaring) by 90 percent while loading at Ras Laffan LNG berths. The project will save 29 billion standard cubic feet of gas per year, enough to power 300,000 homes or to produce 750 Mega Watt of power.
JBOG is the largest boil-off gas recovery project in the world. The project marks a major step towards conserving environment as the reduction is equivalent to annual greenhouse gas savings of 1.6 million tonnes of CO2, which is equivalent to the annual GHG emissions of about 175,000 vehicles.
H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister and Interior Minister, inaugurated the project yesterday at Rast Laffan Industrial City (RLIC).
Instead of the gas being burnt off, JBOG would collect the fuel and transport it to an area where it is compressed to be ready for use again either as LNG or fuel gas. As the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is loaded on to the ships, around one percent of the LNG evaporates (boil off gas) due to the difference of temperature between the cold LNG and the warm ship tank. This boiled-off gas is flared or burnt at the berth because there is no outlet for the low-pressure gas. The JBOG Recovery Project allows the boiled off gas to be recovered.
The project is part of the Common Facilities Projects at RLIC and is led and operated by Qatargas on behalf of Qatar Petroleum and RasGas Company Limited (RasGas).
“Protecting the environment has always been a holistic commitment in everything Qatar Petroleum and its joint ventures do. This commitment is embodied in a number of initiatives, amongst which this project is the largest and most comprehensive with regards to protecting the environment and exploiting the natural resources of the state,” said Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum and Chairman of Qatargas. “The JBOG Project demonstrates the commitment of the State of Qatar to balance industrial development with care for the environment and reinforces our pioneering and leadership role in the energy industry,” he said.
Since the plant started in October in RLIC, it has recovered gas from over 500 ships. “The JBOG Project is considered a landmark project for Qatar. Qatargas is committed to being a key contributor in the realisation of Qatar’s National Vision 2030 to have a proactive and significant international role in assessing the impact of climate change through the responsible production of LNG while protecting the environment for our future generations to come,” said Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, CEO of Qatargas.
Some 3,500 workers and 22 million man hours went into the construction of the plant. Ras Laffan is the world’s largest LNG export terminal and the only facility where multiple LNG ships (six) can be loaded simultaneously.
The Peninsula
