Doha, Qatar - Qatargas today celebrated the arrival and loading of the first Q-Flex vessel - Al Gattara - to Ras Laffan Port at a special ceremony held at the Port to commemorate the occasion.
On this historic occasion senior management from Qatargas, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat), OSG International Inc., the company's shareholders and members of industry gathered to celebrate with a presentation followed by a tour of the vessel.
The vessel set sail immediately for Japan to deliver the first Q-Flex cargo to Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s Higashi Niigata terminal in northern Japan. The unloading is expected to occur later this month.
Speaking about the occasion Mr. Faisal M. Al Suwaidi, Qatargas Chief Executive Officer said; "Today the pioneering vision of Qatargas has become a reality. I stand here with the vessel in my sight and am reminded of all the challenges that were before us when we set out to build these larger, more economic ships. I am proud of our team's ability to overcome these challenges and deliver our vision.
The Q-Flex and her sister the Q-Max will help Qatargas deliver safe and reliable energy to customers around the world."
Mr. Muhammad Ghannam, Managing Director of Qatar Gas Transport Company said; "Nakilat is very please to see the Al Gattara here at Ras Laffan Port today. She symbolizes the start of our operations to safely and reliably deliver Qatar's energy to the world."
The Q-Flex and the even larger Q-Max are a new generation of LNG mega-ship with about 40% lower energy requirements and carbon emissions than conventional vessels due to the economies of scale created by their size the efficiency of the engines.
The Al Gattara is owned by Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) and OSG International Inc. and is chartered by Qatargas on a long-term agreement.
- Ends -
For more information, please contact:
Bachir Mallo
Fortune Promoseven
4th Floor - Pearl Tower
Al Sadd Street
P.O. Box 13645, Doha, Qatar
Tel: +974 4364385
Fax: +974 4364387
Mobile: +974 5690023
© Press Release 2007
