Qatar Petroleum tapped Baker Hughes to supply multiple main refrigerant compressors (MRCs) for its North Field East (NFE) project, executed by Qatargas. The award is part of four LNG mega trains, representing 33 mtpa of additional capacity, boosting Qatar’s total liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity from 77 mtpa to 110 mtpa. Baker Hughes said this order is among the largest LNG deals it has secured in the past 5 years, for both mtpa and equipment awarded.
Qatargas already operates six existing LNG mega trains driven by Baker Hughes’ Frame 9E gas turbine refrigerant compressors.
Each MRC train will consist of three Frame 9E DLN ultra-low NOx gas turbines and six centrifugal compressors across four LNG mega trains for a total scope of supply of 12 gas turbines to drive 24 centrifugal compressors. Packaging, manufacturing and testing of the gas turbine/compressor trains will take place at Baker Hughes’ facilities in Florence and Massa, Italy.
The NFE project will feature compression technology to reduce 60,000 tons of CO2 per train each year without any reduction in LNG production, representing an approximately 5% decrease vs. previous technologies, according to Baker Hughes. The compression trains will be produced using the manufacturing techniques that minimize raw material and emission-intensive processes to reduce CO2 emissions during production by up to 10%.
The North Field is the world’s single largest nonassociated natural gas field. The NFE project is the first phase of the North Field LNG Expansion Project, announced in 2017, and will increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 mtpa to 110 mpta, which accounts for an LNG production capacity increase of approximately 43%. First gas from the expansion project is expected by the end of 2025. The second phase of the expansion project, called the North Field South project (NFS), will further increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 110 mtpa to 126 mtpa.
The project is in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030, which aims for more sustainable development by 2030.