Beach clean-up to be annual event: Qatargas

Omar Salim al-Naimi, director of Environment Protection and Restoration Department, Ministry of Environment (left) and Mansour Rashid al-Naimi, public relations manager of Qatargas speak at a press conference.Qatargas will make its beach clean-up programme an annual event, a senior official said.Public relations manager Mansour Rashid al-Naimi said the beach cleaning programmme will take place on the first Saturday of April each year which coincides with the crucial start of the turtle nesting season.This year around 250 Qatargas volunteers will undertake cleaning up of 2km of the Al Fuwairit beach some 80km north of Doha which will be held on Saturday. It will be done in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and the initiative aims to protect the natural beauty of the nation for generations to come.Al-Naimi said it was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility programme.“Care for the environment is one of the main pillars of our beliefs at Qatargas. We want our environment to be sustained for the coming generations. These initiatives show Qatargas’ commitment to the local community and to the future,” al-Naimi said at a press conference. He added that the initiative reiterated the company’s continued endorsement towards environmental protection. Omar Salim al-Naimi, director of Environment Protection and Restoration Department at the Ministry of Environment, said: “We appreciate and welcome this initiative of Qatargas for ensuring that the beaches in the north-eastern areas of Qatar are kept as clean as possible, especially during the important turtle nesting season. We look forward to a long relationship with such activities continuing on an annual basis.”The first annual clean-up to be held on Saturday will involve collection and removal of rubbish and other debris on 2km of the beach to the north of Al Fuwairit. Simultaneously, in Ras Laffan, the Jetty Gas Boil Off team will clean the beach behind the Qatargas tank farm in co-operation with the Ras Laffan Industrial City. Each Qatargas volunteer involved in the cleaning process will receive training on how to avoid disturbing turtle nests. “Qatargas is totally committed to the management of the environment in which we operate. As a responsible energy operator, Qatargas is keen to promote pioneering environmental solutions to further improve the environmental performance of our LNG and other production facilities,” al-Naimi said.He also highlighted that Qatargas, over the past several years, had been leading a number of important innovative environmental projects in Ras Laffan as well as supporting the country’s efforts in this regard.  “Responsible environmental management is a key element of our corporate social responsibility programme and our endeavours in this area are fully aligned with the Environmental Development pillar of the Qatar National Vision 2030,” he added.