Qatar: Ras Laffan Loads Record Number of LNG Tankers in 2011

A record number of LNG tankers have loaded in the Year 2011 in Ras Laffan Port and on 28th December 2011, the RasGas vessel ‘Simaisma’ became the 1000th LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) tanker to arrive in the Port.

The RasGas chartered vessel built by the Korean Daewoo shipyard and delivered in 2006 is able to load an LNG cargo of 146,000 cubic meters. The vessel owned by a joint venture of Nakilat & Maran Gas Maritime, is on long term charter to RasGas.

The 1,000th tanker bound for Europe is being loaded simultaneously with the 999th, 1001th & 1002th LNG tankers and they will in total take on board approximately just over half million cubic meters of LNG. To mark the occasion, a ceremony was held in Ras Laffan Port with senior representatives from RasGas, Qatargas, Nakilat and Qatar Petroleum. Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLC) Acting Director, Capt. Feisal Saad presented a commemorative traditional Arabic dhow to the “Simaisma” ship master Capt.

Apanomeritakis Georgios. Speaking at the event, Capt. Saad said, “Just in June this year, the Port celebrated the 5,000th LNG loading since the start of operations in 1996. Now with full production of 77 million tones per annum from Qatargas and RasGas, various other milestones are being achieved very quickly. Designed as a world-class facility, RLC industries and the Port have so far demonstrated exceptional efficiency. The lifting of the 1,000th LNG tanker is a remarkable milestone that winds up an outstanding year of steady and efficient operations of RLC”. Coincidentally in April 2011, the “Simaisma” was the first LNG tanker vessel to be received at the new state-of-the-art dry dock at Ras Laffan Port operated by N-KOM (Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine).

LNG is produced by the two major Qatar Petroleum (QP) joint venture companies, Qatargas and RasGas, who are both based in Ras Laffan Industrial City which is managed and administered by Qatar Petroleum. RasGas LNG production commenced in 1998 and its first cargo was shipped out in June 1999. The company operates 7 LNG trains with a total LNG production capacity of 37 million tons per annum. The Qatargas 7th LNG train was commissioned in late 2010 and Qatargas now has production capacity of 42 million tons per annum. This marked the culmination of HH the Emir’s vision to reach a total of 77 million tons per annum. Qatargas and RasGas have worldwide customers across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Qatar Petroleum’s Directorate, Ras Laffan Industrial City, provides the common facilities of land, infrastructure, port and the common cooling water for the companies based in Ras Laffan. The Port is ultra modern and is considered as one of the top exporting ports in the Middle-East and Asia regions. With six operational LNG berths, the port is the world’s premier LNG exporting facility and on the 24th of February 2011, and for the first time, all the six LNG berths were occupied with tanker vessels loading LNG cargoes for various destinations around the globe.

Nakilat owned vessels representing about 16% of the global LNG tonnage is the largest LNG fleet in the world. It consists of a total of 54 vessels of various sizes including Q-Flex and Q-Max sizes which were specially constructed to ship Qatar’s LNG to the world markets. Maran Gas Maritime Inc. was set up in 2003 as the Gas Shipping unit of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group Limited. The LNG fleet is an integral and strategic part of the State’s LNG supply chain and one of the most important links to ensure secure and reliable delivery of LNG to global customer bases.

This latest record milestone is a strong testament to the far sighted vision of the country’s leadership and the longstanding relationship between Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatargas, RasGas and Nakilat, who are partners in progress to provide the world with clean energy.