Qatargas has awarded an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to Samsung Engineering Ltd. for a Diesel Hydrotreater (DHT) Unit that will further enhance production at the Laffan Refinery.
The Laffan Refinery, which started production in September 2009 and is operated by Qatargas, is one of the largest condensate refineries in the world and the first of its kind in Qatar.
The contract was formally signed by HE Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman of the Qatargas and Laffan Refinery Boards of Directors, and Mr. Park Ki-Seok, President and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Engineering Ltd.
Surplus to be exported
Commenting on this major project, Al-Sada said: "The surplus production will be exported, making it the latest addition to the State of Qatar's existing export portfolio in the energy sector. The planned start-up of this project is the first quarter of 2014 at a cost of around US$ 96.1mn."
The unit will treat 54,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD) of diesel, from high-sulfur into ultra low-sulfur diesel fuel, at the Laffan Refinery.
To be integrated
The DHT Unit, which is aiming to produce diesel with less than ten parts per million (ppm) sulphur content with the Euro 5 specification, will be built and integrated into the existing Laffan Refinery by 2014. The DHT Unit will process straight run Light Gas Oil (LGO) feedstock from the existing Laffan Refinery 1 (LR1) and the second planned refinery (LR2).
50 per cent capacity
The DHT Unit has a processing capacity of 54,000 BPSD. Until the second refinery is operational, the DHT Unit will run at 50 per cent of its designed capacity. Occasionally, when the existing kerosene hydrotreater is shut down either for maintenance or catalyst replacement, the DHT Unit will also be able to treat the straight-run LGO from the kerosene condensate fractionation unit.
The shareholders
The DHT Unit will be installed inside the plot of LR1, which is located in Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLIC) in Qatar. The unit is being developed by Laffan Refinery Company and operated by Qatargas. The shareholders in the joint venture include Qatar Petroleum (84 per cent), Total (10 per cent), Idemitsu (2 per cent), Cosmo (2 per cent), Mitsui (1 per cent) and Marubeni (1 per cent).
