Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLC) covers 239 sq km, excluding the Ras Laffan port area but including the Southern Reserve Zone that is reserved for possible development in the future, and is located about 80 km from Qatar’s giant North Field, the world’s largest single non-associated gas field with approximately 900 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves. RLC’s central location on international trade marine routes and its ability to accommodate large-scale development makes it the perfect location for Qatar’s growing hydrocarbons industry.
RLC, a Qatar Petroleum Directorate, is a major component in Qatar’s endeavor to become the world’s leading natural gas processing country.. Working in close coordination with stakeholders, such as End-users and Government bodies, the management has created an attractive business climate and provides a range of customer-oriented services, infrastructure and facilities.
The RLC port which is partly operational and partly under construction covers 56 sq kilometers and will become the world’s largest LNG-exporting facility by 2010. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art control tower and associated navigational aids; other services include bunkering and berthing facilities, and emergency and oil spill response. Current export is approximately 39 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, and this figure is expected to reach approximately 77 mtpa in 2010. The construction and expansion of the RLC port currently underway will enhance its capacity to meet the requirements of LNG, Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) and petrochemical projects over the next 20 years. This extension includes new LNG and liquid product berths, a dry dock facility, a container terminal, dry cargo berths, and new service berths.
The Infrastructure Department at RLC oversees development and construction activities. Areas are provided for the development of support industries and services. . Work force accommodation facilities currently house over 100,000 workers. An environmental division provides a range of services to ensure that the activities in RLC comply with the applicable environmental policies in RLC and the State of Qatar.
These world-class facilities have attracted many local and multinational energy giants. ORYX GTL with 34,000 barrels per day production is currently the world’s largest Gas to Liquids (GTL) facility soon to be overtaken by Shell’s Pearl GTL with 140,000 barrels per day production which is under construction. Dolphin Energy’s Gas processing plant is currently exporting gas to the gulf area. In addition RasGas and Qatargas LNG plants, Ras Laffan Power Company, Qatar Power Company, Al Khaleej Gas Project (AKG 1) and the Ras Laffan Helium Project are operational; and an ethane cracker, condensate refinery, the second phase of the Al Khaleej Gas project , expansions to the LNG plants , and a third power and water company are under construction