By Pratap John

Chief Business Reporter

 

Qatargas has launched a number of initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint in alignment with the country’s national vision, said Ghanim Mohamed al-Kuwari, Qatargas chief operating officer (administration). He was addressing the Doha Carbon and Energy Forum at the Qatar National Convention Centre yesterday.

Flare reduction projects, greenhouse gas management strategy and studies launched on carbon capture, storage and energy efficiency in collaboration with Qatar Petroleum are among these initiatives, al-Kuwari said.

With respect to flare reduction, one of the pioneering projects is the $1bn Jetty Boil-off Gas (JBOG) project, which will start next year and reduce flaring at Qatargas LNG berths by up to 90%.

This, he said, represents overall savings of about 29bn standard cu ft of flared gas each year, enough to power some 300,000 homes.

“Besides, this will help us reduce Qatargas’ emissions footprint by approximately 1.6mn tonnes of CO2 annually,” al-Kuwari said.

During the COP18 conference, Qatar launched the Centre for Climate Research in partnership with Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research for studying global climate change and its impacts on ecological, economic and social systems.

Technologies such as carbon capture and storage enables the capture of CO2 from fuel combustion or industrial processes and its storage underground in depleted oil and gas fields of deep saline formations. Carbon capture and storage can have a critical role to play in managing the carbon footprint.

Qatar has also formed the Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre and is funding a $70mn, 10-year research partnership among Shell, QP, Imperial College of London and the Qatar Science and Technology Park.

The centre will help build Qatar’s knowledge in carbon capture and storage.

Many regions including the Gulf are investing in alternative fuels and technology to enhance energy efficiency, al-Kuwari said. Besides cost savings, energy efficiency implementation can result in significant greenhouse gas emission reduction.

The Qatar National Vision 2030 aims to reduce the energy intensity of electricity consumption through awareness campaign, standardisation and seasonal equipment maintenance shutdown.

Qatar, through ongoing research and innovation within its industrial sector, is contributing towards enhancing energy efficiency.

Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy hold a lot of promise for future. Such clean sources of energy can contribute significantly in offsetting the use of fossil fuels and thus reduce the impact of climate change.

Qatar was also pursuing renewable energy deployment and diligently pursuing plans to harvest solar energy, al-Kuwari said.

 

 

 

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