Page 14 - DMEA Week 31

DMEA LNG DMEA

Qatar picks Air Products for

LNG expansion tech

QATAR QATAR Petroleum (QP) has picked Air Prod- LNG process trains in the world, satisfying our
ucts to supply gas liquefaction technology and customers’ desire to reduce capital cost per tonne
Air Products supplied equipment for the first stage of its LNG expan- of LNG produced via economy of scale,” he said.
technology for all sion programme. “These immense AP-X units have a process
Qatar’s existing trains Air Products will provide its propriety AP-X production capacity that is 50% larger than any
as well. technology for each of the four 7.8mn tonne other LNG train in operation and positions Air
per year (tpy) liquefaction trains that QP plans Products well for any customer requiring larger
to add at the North Field under the phase. The LNG process trains.”
US firm did not say how much the contract was The AP-X technology includes main cry-
worth. ogenic heat exchangers and subcooling heat
“The truest sign of a satisfied customer is one exchangers, and also covers Rotoflow turboma-
that comes back and places another order, and chinery companders and nitrogen economiser
Air Products is both pleased and proud that our cold boxes. The Rotoflow equipment division
premier technology was selected again for the focuses on seamless product development.
newest phase of this massive LNG expansion Air Products will construct the parts at its
project in Qatar,” Air Products’ chief operating plant in Florida, which recently underwent an
officer Samir Serhan said. expansion.
Air Products have provided technology for The first stage of North Field’s expansion,
all of Qatar’s 14 existing trains, the first of which known as North Field East (NFE), will raise
entered service in 1996. Qatar’s liquefaction to 110mn tpy by 2025. The
“Our AP-X liquefaction technology sets the second, known as North Field South (NFS), will
standard for the industry and offers the largest increase it to 126mn tpy by the late 2020s. ™

REFINING

Aramco awards $80mn Ras Tanura

contract to Spain’s TR

SAUDI ARABIA SAUDI Aramco has awarded a $80mn contract Aramco last month also awarded a $53mn
to Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas (TR) to build a new contract to the UAE’s Target Engineering, to
Tecnicas Reunidas was sour water stripper at its 550,000 barrel per day replace storage tanks at Ras Tanura.
aslo involved in the (bpd) Ras Tanura oil refinery – Saudi Arabia’s Despite low production costs, the Saudi oil
clean fuels project at biggest. giant has nevertheless had to rein in spending
the refinery. The lump sum turn-key (LSTK) contract significantly in response to the coronavirus
covers engineering, procurement, supply, con- (COVID-19) crisis, like most other oil firms.
struction and assistance with start-up, TR said. “Having cut its 2020 capex plan by $12-15bn,
Its scope includes both the unit itself and tie-in Saudi Aramco is proceeding with only the most
facilities. necessary and minor projects to improve down-
The sour water stripper will boost the recov- stream efficiency,” Ian Simm, principal advisor at
ery of hydrogen sulphide and ammonia from the IGM Energy, told NewsBase.
refinery’s water network, improving the quality Overseas, Aramco had been preparing to
of water that will be re-used by various units. The take a 20% stake in the oil-to-chemicals business
project’s run-time is 34 months. of India’s Reliance Industries, but the $15bn deal
Back in 2016, TR was selected by Aramco for appears to have stalled.
the Clean Fuels project at Ras Tanura. Reports “Aramco’s downstream has continued to
claimed at the time that the contract was worth under-perform and margins will likely struggle
as much as $1.8bn. It covered the construction in the short to medium term,” Simm said. “Deals
of naphtha hydrotreatment, catalytic reforming like this one with TR and the expected award
and isomerisation units, as well as the upgrade to Abu Dhabi’s NPCC of a contract to build an
of existing facilities. This enabled the refinery to export platform at Juaymah are likely to be par
start producing Euro-5 standard motor fuels. for the course for Aramco in the short term.” ™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 31 06•August•2020