Offshore staff
HOUSTON and LONDON — Baker Hughes has secured an order to be booked in the first quarter of 2023 with partner QatarEnergy to supply two main refrigerant compressors (MRCs) for the North Field South (NFS) project, which will be executed by Qatargas.
The MRCs are part of two LNG “mega trains” representing 16 mtpa of additional capacity that is estimated to further boost Qatar’s LNG production capacity to 126 mtpa. Qatar's goal is to be a leader in global LNG production by 2027.
Baker Hughes has supported Qatargas since the early 1990s with core LNG liquefaction technology. This most recent contract, which builds upon a previously announced award for North Field East (NFE) expansion in 2020, will bring the overall number of LNG “mega trains” driven by Baker Hughes’ energy solutions to 12.
Like the trains supplied for the NFE project, Baker Hughes’ LNG technology will contribute to improving the energy efficiency of the project through enhanced machine performance, the company said. Each MRC train will consist of three Frame 9E DLN ultra-low NOx gas turbines and six centrifugal compressors across two LNG “mega trains” for a total scope of supply of six gas turbines to drive 12 centrifugal compressors. Packaging, manufacturing and testing of the gas turbine/compressor trains, a Baker Hughes offering, will take place at Baker Hughes’ Gas Technology facilities in Italy and leverage its service site in Ras Laffan, Qatar, for maintenance and technical assistance services.
Baker Hughes has three service facilities, one R&D center and more than 450 employees in Qatar.
The North Field is the world’s single largest non-associated natural gas field. The NFS project, owned by QatarEnergy in partnership with a number of 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, which will be achieved by the end of the first phase North Field East expansion in 2025, to 126 mtpa by 2027.
04.03.2023
