Port Arthur News

The sand is the color of powdered chalk and the land flat, save the occasional rock. From sky to earth is a progression of tan. Brown and browning trees bow to the ground and an occasional splotch of green shrubbery is the only outward sign of life. The Qatari desert humbles itself to the heat of day. An hour’s bus ride from Doha’s city centre through this barrenness that once was all of Qatar sits RasGas LNG.

It is fitting perhaps that one must travel through Qatar’s past to reach the source of Qatar’s future. A future which with the inauguration of Train 6 will greatly shape the future of Texas as well. Impacting especially those residing in Jefferson County. For it is RasGas’ Train 6, in partnership with ExxonMobil, that will supply Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to Golden Pass LNG upon its completion in mid 2010.

Although “First Drop” occurred on July 31, the official inauguration ceremony for Train 6 was held on October 27 to coincide with RasGas’ Tenth Anniversary of LNG sales. Held in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, the event was a veritable who’s who of the Qatari government and of the global Oil and Gas Industry. Also in attendance were His Excellency Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry), His Excellency Yousef Kamal (Minister of Economy and Finance and Chairman of the RasGas Board of Directors), Mr. Hamad Rashid al Mohannadi (Managing Director-CEO of RasGas) and Mr. Mark Albers (Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil Corporation).

Qatar is the world’s leading supplier of LNG and has worked in cooperation with ExxonMobil since 1935. In speaking on the relationship between ExxonMobil and RasGas, Mark Albers said, “Qatar is obviously very, very important in ExxonMobil’s portfolio. It’ll represent 20-25% of [ExxonMobil’s] total production.” Fueling this production is the North Field which Qatar shares with Iran. The North Field is estimated to hold more than 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas making it the largest non-associated natural gas reserve in the world. Of this, Golden Pass LNG is estimated to process up to 2 billion cubic feet per day.

Train 6 and Golden Pass LNG represent Qatar’s entrance into the US market. A market which despite a short-term depression due to the global economic crisis is expected to grow significantly over the next 20 to 25 years. The global demand for LNG is expected to increase four percent annually over this same period due to: the high cost of oil, global energy shortage concerns, decreased LNG operating and transport costs and a push for clean fuel.

Natural Gas is the cleanest of all fossil fuels. In pounds per billion of energy output, Natural Gas emits less carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides than Oil and Coal. Addressing the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent attention to toxic emissions in Texas, Mark Albers stated, “We think [LNG is] part of the solution.” Qatar’s leading dignitaries could not agree more.

Ten years ago, they ignored doubters and invested heavily in the LNG industry. The gamble paid off and LNG now contributes more greatly than oil to Qatar’s GDP. Indeed Qatar’s success in the LNG industry is near fairytale. From a debt of 80-90% GDP in the late 1990’s, Qatar has become one of the fastest growing economies in the world with an estimated 2009 per capita income of USD 81,860. The Inauguration of RasGas Train 6 and the celebration of RasGas ten years in the LNG market served not only to honor Qatar’s meteoric rise but also to reconfirm the nation’s leadership in the LNG market. From onshore to offshore to LNG vessels, Qatar is continuing to break new ground in the development and execution of the latest LNG technology. Such ambition no doubt benefits the people of Qatar, but also aides their customers across the globe by ensuring a reliable energy supply at decreased prices. For those in Jefferson County, the effect is two-fold. Train 6, in partnership with Golden Pass LNG, will not only provide a new source of clean fuel but it will directly and indirectly affect the local economy.

Fact Box:

-Construction of Train 6 was completed in 45 months

-19,000 workers were employed at peak construction

-Transporting LNG to Golden Pass will be the Q-Max and the Q-Flex vessels.

-The Q-Max has a capacity of 266,000 cubic meters (the largest in the world).

-The Q-Flex has a capacity of 210,000 cubic meters (second largest in the world).