RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) and the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Centre at Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), paving the way for continued, mutually rewarding activities founded on the shared goal of promoting process safety in Qatar’s energy sector. The MoU was signed by Hamad Rashid al-Mohannadi, RasGas CEO, and Dr Mark H Weichold, dean and CEO of Texas A&M at Qatar.The discipline of process safety deals with the prevention and control of incidents that have the potential to release hazardous materials and energy. It is a framework for managing the handling of these substances by applying good design principles, engineering, and operating and maintenance practices. “As an energy company striving for excellence, RasGas recognises that sound performance is founded on advanced safety management programmes executed in a systematic and disciplined manner. As we continue to build a strong process safety culture in RasGas, this MoU with Texas A&M at Qatar is a wonderful opportunity for our company to help shape, improve and promote the best practices and safety excellence in Qatar,” said al-Mohannadi.Last year, TAMUQ brought an extension of the Texas-based Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Centre (MKOPSC-Q) to Doha. Under the management of Dr Luc Véchot, managing director, the satellite centre’s mission is to develop a vibrant and dynamic centre for process safety comprising multidisciplinary and dedicated engineers, scientists, educators, students and staff. “The collaboration between MKOPSC-Q, Texas A&M at Qatar and RasGas will help Qatar achieve its Qatar National Vision 2030 goals and contributes to human development. This partnership will also help Texas A&M at Qatar in its mission to enrich Qatar’s greatest natural resource - its people - by creating safer process safety technologies and work environments. “The five-year agreement with RasGas will add to the Doha centre’s close interaction with industry and fundamentally enhance the centre’s strength and significance by giving us an industry perspective. Specifically, this MoU offers a unique opportunity for MKOPSC-Q and RasGas to develop research projects regarding LNG safety, given RasGas’s position as a major LNG producer. This has a potential for wide-ranging impact as solutions developed here will benefit the international LNG industry as a whole,” said Dr Weichold.