DOHA: The Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani formally inaugurated Al Khaleej Gas 2 (AKG-2), the second and last phase of Al Khaleej Gas Project (AKG), yesterday at the Cultural Village.
AKG-2 was completed in December last year, expanding production capacity by 1.25 billion standard cubic feet of sales gas per day to achieve the project's goal.
Combined with Al Khaleej Gas-Phase 1 (AKG-1), which began production in 2005, AKG's production capacity stands at 2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day, making it the largest domestic gas supplier in Qatar.
AKG supplies natural gas to domestic markets, while recovering condensate and natural gas liquids. AKG's goal is to provide natural gas to the domestic market and continue to help meet the growing demand for clean natural gas as the country continues to grow.
The first phase, AKG1, was developed to provide gas exclusively to Ras Laffan and Mesaieed industrial cities. Besides, AKG 1 provides feedstock to the world's largest operating gas-to-liquids plant in Ras Laffan Industrial City.
The plant processes the AKG 1 feedstock gas to create consumable liquid fuels, for both domestic and foreign markets. The second phase, AKG 2, was built to meet the long-term goal of satisfying domestic requirements for natural gas feedstock to support Qatar's flourishing economy, with the majority of AKG 2's production meeting the demand for electricity.
In addition to supplying natural gas, AKG also produces substantial quantities of condensate and natural gas liquids, such as ethane, propane and butane, for foreign and domestic customers, such as the Ras Laffan Olefins Complex and other domestic petrochemical projects under development.
AKG is an integrated project between Qatar Petroleum (QP) and ExxonMobil, and it is operated under an agreement with RasGas as the project's contract operator to ensure the project is run safely and reliably.
"This historic inauguration celebrates another ambitious energy project in Qatar, in realization of the wise vision of H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar. This project, developed in cooperation between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil, will be a major supplier of clean energy sources for power plants and various industries, and will contribute to the country's comprehensive development to build a modern state," said Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry, H.E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah.
Alex Dodds, President, ExxonMobil Qatar said: "We are proud to be working with Qatar Petroleum and the people of Qatar on the Al Khaleej Gas project. The inauguration will provide an opportunity for all involved recognizing the hard work, dedication and vision that has gone into making this project a reality."
AKG provides natural gas resources to Laffan Power Company, to Ras Laffan Olefins Company, the Laffan Refinery as well as Oryx GTL. It will also supply the Qatar gas grid which supplies gas to power generating plants, petrochemical and metal industries in the Mesaieed industrial area. In addition to powering some of Qatar's most significant industries, AKG is fully committed to the highest environmental standards. The project was built in strict adherence to latest Ras Laffan Industrial City and Ministry of Environment guidelines.
The AKG project processes gas produced from several wellhead platforms that develop the Khuff Reservoir of Qatar's giant North Field. A key element of AKG's success was the use of ExxonMobil's revolutionary 'Fast Drill' which greatly reduced the time needed to drill the offshore wells and reduced the cost.
AKG-1 is supplied by Wellhead Platform 4, with 9 wells that can source up to 850 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. AKG 2 is supplied by Wellhead Platforms 10 and 11, with 8 and 7 wells respectively, that can produce up to 1.6 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.
By Nasser Al Harty
© The Peninsula 2010
