$30 million contract for control valves for Qatari LNG plant

By Control Engineering Staff May 12, 2006

Digital control vales are involved in an estimated $30 million order for Emerson Process Management control valves to be installed at a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil for the Qatargas II LNG Plant expansion at the Ras Laffan Industrial Complex in Qatar.

Expansion will add onto the existing Qatargas site. Train No. 4 is scheduled to begin delivery of 7.8-million metric tons annually in late 2007, and train No. 5 is scheduled to produce an additional 7.8-million metric tons annually beginning one to two years later. Emerson is the main automation contractor and is supplying its PlantWeb digital plant architecture for the project.

An extensive range of high performance digital valves made it possible to implement and custom design valves to meet all process noise, temperature, flow capacity and pressure requirements. Sizes vary from 1-36 in with pressure ratings up to ANSI 1,500. Delivery of the valves began in March.

Patented cryogenic sealing technology will be implemented in the valves. Fisher optimized antisurge digital-valves will be used for the compressor recycle applications. Emerson’s WhisperFlo low noise trim will be used to meet the plant’s stringent noise requirements. The antisurge valves will have extremely accurate and fast-acting actuation systems, and all of the valves will be equipped with Fieldvue digital valve-controllers with advanced diagnostics capability.

— Richard Phelps, senior editor, Control Engineering