Baker Hughes has secured a contract from QatarEnergy to deliver two main refrigerant compressors (MRCs) for the North Field South LNG project. The two compressors will be part of the two mega LNG trains that will add 16 million tons of LNG production capacity per year to Qatar’s total, reaching 126 MTPA by 2027. The project is being executed by Qatargas.
Baker Hughes recalled that it has supported Qatargas since the early 1990s with core LNG liquefaction technology. This latest contract, which builds on a previously announced award for the North Field East (NFE) expansion in 2020, will bring the total number of LNG mega trains powered by Baker Hughes’ “leading energy solutions” to 12 , the company noted.
“We are pleased to be a long-time partner of Qatar, helping to position the country as a leading LNG supplier and helping to unlock more global capacity,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, president and CEO of Baker Hughes.
“LNG will enable the energy transition by acting as a more reliable, affordable and flexible energy source alongside other new energy sources, including renewables and hydrogen. As the LNG technology leader, Baker Hughes is committed to support for the sector to capture, transfer and transform gas in a way that meets growing energy demand and reduces emissions.”
Like the trains supplied for the NFE project, Baker Hughes said its LNG technology will help improve the project’s energy efficiency through better machine performance. Each MRC train will consist of three Frame 9E DLN Ultra Low NOx gas turbines and six centrifugal compressors in two mega LNG trains for a total supply range of six gas turbines to drive 12 centrifugal compressors.
Packaging, manufacturing and testing of the gas turbine/compressor trains, a unique Baker Hughes offering, will take place at Baker Hughes’ Gas Technology facility in Italy and will leverage its Ras Laffan service site , Qatar, for maintenance and technical assistance services, the company said in its statement.
With more than 45 years of presence in Qatar, Baker Hughes has three service facilities, a research and development center and more than 450 employees. In 2019, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with QatarEnergy for the TAWTEEN value program in the country, with the aim of further boosting localization and growth in Qatar, the statement said.
Baker Hughes recalled that the North Field is the world’s largest unassociated natural gas field. The NFS project, owned by QatarEnergy in partnership with several international oil companies and operated by Qatargas, is the second phase of the North Field expansion project, which was announced in 2017.
When fully completed, it will increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 110 MTPA, to be achieved at the end of the first phase of the North Field East expansion in 2025, to 126 MTPA in 2027, Baker Hughes said.
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