In its drive to implement new technologies as part of its commitment to preserve the environment RasGas has embarked on a wide ranging programme to convert all its Trains 1 through 4 and bringing them to the best available technology in the market to reduce the nitrogen oxide (NOx) level. Hamad Rashid Al Mohannadi, Managing Director of RasGas told reporters yesterday that Train-3 will be the first to go through the retrofitting using Dry Low NOx (DLN) during the planned maintenance in this coming May. When a major shutdown is made at a plant which may take around 22 days, a retrofit is applied and an additional 10 to 15 days is required for the conversion process to new technologies upgrade. Al Mohannadi said: “We worked very closely with our business partner General Electric (GE) to convert all the old trains using the DLN. We have really set the pace in what the industry could do here in Qatar. We were the first to embark on this project and the first Train will go through the retrofitting during the planned maintenance in May.” RasGas has initiated a programme that extends all the way to the year 2014 to convert all the Trains and equip them with the best available technology in the market in terms of NOx emissions, a DLN retrofitting programme worth QR1bn. “With this in place we will end up reducing the NOx emissions level by almost 85 percent. All the Trains will be converted in the same way we operate the new Trains using the best technology,” Al Mohannadi said. He also said that RasGas has been working hard in flare minimisation. “We have a flare minimisation programme where, since 2005 have been able to bring our flaring down by 66 percent since we started. That will continue and we are in discussion with the Ministry of Environment to agree on the next five-year plan,” he said By Nasser Al Harthy

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