Qatargas has won the “Award for excellence in flaring reduction” instituted by the World Bank led Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR) at a high-profile ceremony held in London.The World Bank led initiative, the GGFR, is a globally recognised flare mitigation programme within the oil and gas industry. It brings together representatives of governments, state-owned companies and major international companies so they can overcome the barriers to reducing gas flaring by sharing global best practice and implement country specific programs.Qatargas CEO Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani said, “We are delighted to win this prestigious award, which bears testimony to our adherence to operational excellence and high environmental performance and stewardship. It shows that our approach to flare management is seen internationally in the top performance category and is particularly relevant as Qatar will shortly be hosting the international climate negotiations, the Conference of the Parties (COP18).”Qatargas chief operations officer (Engineering & Ventures) Sheikh Khalid Abdulla M A al-Thani who received the award on behalf of Qatargas, said, “Our key drivers to minimise flaring include our desire to reduce our carbon footprint and also achieve operational excellence. We are currently leading one of the largest entirely environmentally-friendly based projects in the world to recover gas being flared during the liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship loading at Ras Laffan Port. The $800mn Jetty Boil-Off Gas (JBOG) Recovery Project will enable boil-off gas to be collected from LNG ships and compressed at a central facility. The compressed gas will then be sent to the LNG producers to be consumed as fuel or converted back into LNG.”“The JBOG Project is a cornerstone of Qatargas’ overall flare management and reduction strategy and will be instrumental in our drive to reduce and maintain total flaring at regulatory target levels in the long-term to protect the environment. The project will recover enough natural gas per year to power the equivalent of more than 40,000 homes,” Sheikh Khalid added.