Qatargas has announced that Qatargas Ras Laffan Terminal Operations (RLTO) has safely loaded the 10,000th cargo shipment of non-LNG product in the Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLIC).

Since starting operations in 2006, the dedicated teams at Qatargas have "efficiently and reliably" loaded more than 4bn barrels of product to customers all over the world. With demand continuing to grow for the vast array of products produced in RLIC, RLTO is entrusted with handling approximately 1mn barrels of oil equivalent of product every single day.

To celebrate the important milestone, a ceremony was held onboard the receiving vessel ‘Serjeant’ – an LPG tanker.

Ahmad Helal al-Mohannadi, chief operating officer (North); Fahad al-Khater, chief operating officer (South); Abdullah Khalid Idris, Qatargas RLTO manager and other senior Qatargas officials attended the ceremony alongside senior officials from the Ras Laffan Port.

The ceremony began with speeches by Qatargas chief operating officer (North) and chief operating officer (South), followed by the presentation of a commemorative plaque to the master of the ‘Serjeant’.

Captain CP Gupta thanked Qatargas for its trust, and expressed his appreciation for choosing ‘Serjeant’ as the 10,000th vessel to load from the RLTO facility at Ras Laffan.

Qatargas RLTO was launched in 2006 as the single operator responsible for the storage and loading activities of non-LNG hydrocarbon liquids and sulphur produced in RLIC.

With one operator managing the safe storage and loading of non-LNG products, significant economies of scale were captured, and personnel were safeguarded with uniform safety standards.

The main customers of the services rendered by Qatargas RLTO are Qatar Petroleum, Qatargas, Al Khaleej Gas, Qatar Shell GTL, Dolphin Energy Limited, Laffan Refinery Company Limited 1 and 2, Oryx GTL, Ras Laffan Olefins Company and Barzan.

It is anticipated that the number of companies utilising the RLTO services will expand as various growth projects come into fruition.