Our projects

ORYX GTL
How Technip delivered Middle Easts first GTL plant

North
Field

A large-scale second-generation GTL plant

ORYX GTL complex

Doha

Qatar

Sau
di

The ORYX GTL complex has positioned Qatar as the leading

producer of synthetic petroleum products made from natural gas.
The plant converts gas from the North Field into high value,
low-sulphur environmentally friendly diesel, naphtha, and LPG.

Ar

abi

In March 2003, the ORYX GTL project was launched at Ras Laffan to build a world-class first-of-a-kind GTL plant based on
the Sasol Slurry Phase DistillateTM (SPDTM) technology. The ORYX GTL plant includes:
3 core technology units:
Synthesis-gas production (Haldor Topsoe)
Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis (Sasol)
Product work-up (Chevron)

Ancillary process units:

Air separation
Hydrogen production
Heavy ends recovery

Reaction water treatment

LPG clean-up

The complex also includes the full production and distribution of utilities (water, steam, power), thorough effluent treatment
to match the high environmental standards of Qatar, product storage and ship loading facilities.

The first GTL plant in Qatar

Client: ORYX GTL Ltd.
(JV 51% Qatar Petroleum 49% Sasol Synfuels
International)

The ORYX GTL Project was implemented in

two phases -the EPC project and
technological improvement following startup-,
and was managed by our Rome office, one of
Technips main operating centres.

EPC Contractor: Technip

Lumpsum turnkey contract awarded in March
2003
Conversion of natural gas into liquid hydrocarbon
products (34,000 bpsd of GTL Diesel, Naphtha
and LPG)
Utility systems started up in December 2005
Process unit commissioning from August 2006
On-spec GTL products to storage in January 2007

GTL is a new way of bringing natural gas energy to the

market, enabling gas-rich countries to strategically diversify
their gas monetisation options.
GTL products from ORYX have superior environmental
characteristics, producing ultra-low emissions during
combustion compared to conventional products from oil
refineries.
The high quality gas-derived products are easily sold on an
almost unlimited market.

ORYX GTL plant: project scope

Rising EPC costs and resource shortages in construction, logistics and
procurement were the real challenges in implementing the ORYX GTL project,
a large and technically complex project.
The EPC lumpsum contract was awarded at the end of 2002 and came into
force in March 2003.
Technips contract scope included: engineering, procurement and supply of
equipment and materials, construction, commissioning, start-up, initial
operation and performance testing of this grassroots GTL plant.
Engineering activities specifically focused on safety, constructability,
operability and environmental impacts.

ORYX GTL plant block flow diagram

Construction also included
the lifting of two 2,000-tonne
reactors

Process Units
Ancillary Process Units
Utilities/Offsites
Fuel
Gas
Air

External
Recycle

Air
Separation

Natural
Gas

Heavy Ends
Recovery

Hydrogen
Production

Oxygen
Natural Gas

Syngas
Production
HP
Steam

Syngas

MP
Steam

LPG
F-T
Synthesis

Liquid
Products

Product
Work-up

Naphtha
Diesel

Reaction
Water

The high level of integration of process and

utilities posed many challenges to both
plant efficiency and on-stream time.

BFW

Plant
Condensates
Utilities

Effluent
Treatment

Steam, BFW,
Power To Users

Treated Water
Oxygenates

Plant Effluents

Technip successfully
completed this large
project by leveraging its
50-year experience in
hydrocarbon processing
project execution.

To match this challenge, Technip carried out a significant

amount of dynamic simulation validated by the stability of
plant controls and their ability to manage any plant upset
smoothly and safely.
The number of process units in a GTL plant, the complexity of
operating sequences linking those units, and the limited
intermediate storage buffer volume led to a need for careful
definition of the start-up sequence and fine-tuning of the
various conditions to guarantee the safe and successful ramp
up of the entire plant.
New process steps were introduced to reduce catalyst fines in
the wax and to improve the operation of the reaction water
treatment units.

The site team

Nearly 30,000,000 construction manhours were spent on site.
At peak, some 4,500 people were working, representing more than
15 nationalities.
1,500,000 manhours were spent by Technip on construction
management and supervision.

The projects
main challenges

For plant handover

purposes and to
manage the
interface between
construction and
commissioning, the
plant was divided
into 229 systems,
each having the
following certified
steps:
Construction Completion
(CC)
Ready for Commissioning
(RFC)
Ready for Operation
(RFO)

The industrys leading vendors and erection contractors were engaged

considering the size of the main equipment (diameters up to 10 m, lengths up
to 60 m, weights up to 2,000 tonnes), and piping and the complexity of the
plants civil structures.
Piping pre-fabrication was extensively used and exceeded 4,500 tonnes.
Extensive use was made of reinforced pre-fabricated concrete structures, as
more cost-effective given the type of resources available locally.
A significant amount of instrumentation was installed to guarantee proper
plant performance. The overall number of control and safety valves
approached 1,500 units. Technip designed the DCS, MMS and SIS systems to
meet the highest safety standards as well as the highest on-stream factor.
The large amount of cooling needed and the absence of available cooling
water led to many air coolers. The procurement of this equipment was a
critical step in the project execution, as it saturated the supply capacity of
air-fin exchanger manufacturers worldwide.

The main quantities reveal the large size of the ORYX GTL plant:
Plant area
Equipment
Concrete
Steel structures
Piping
Equipment
Instrument cables
Electrical cables

72
1,650
63,000
8,000
12,800
26,000
1,200
500

hectares
pieces
m3
tonnes
tonnes
tonnes
km
km

ORYX GTL

Major success factors

Involvement of Technip's construction and commissioning experts in plant design from day one.
Careful planning of each phase of the project, with a particular focus on start-up which was under Technip's complete
care and responsibility.
The existence of a proactive and fair dialogue between the Owner, Licensor and Contractor.
Home office Project Team organised as a task force.
Use of highly experienced staff and specialised vendors.
Quick release of purchase orders for the Fischer-Tropsch reactors and other long-lead items.
Direct management of plant finishing works and punch-list clearance by Technip's construction teams (direct hire).
Prompt personnel recruitment for plant start-up and operation ensuring proper training, both at site and at similar
industrial plants.
Strong support from Sasol for expertise in plant operations.

Excellence Award 2010 - Project rewarded by IPMA (*) for the mega sized-project category.
(*) International Project Management Association

HSE
performance

HEADQUARTERS
Technip
89 avenue de la Grande Arme
75773 Paris Cedex 16
France
Phone: +33 (0)1 47 78 24 00
LNG / GTL Business Unit
Philip HAGYARD
Phone: +33 (0)1 47 78 27 17
E-mail: phagyard@technip.com

More than
9 million manhours
without LTI

Roberto di CINTIO
Phone: +39 06 65 98 30 58
E-mail: rdicintio@technip.com
Technip Italy SpA
Viale Castello della Magliana
Rome
Italy
Phone: +39 06 65 981
Fax: +39 06 655 1402

www.technip.com

A complete HSE program was set up, including:

Procedures
Permit to work (PTW),
with certified personnel
Lock out Tag out
(LOTO) procedure

Training
Site HSE induction
Distribution of a safety booklet to each
member of the workforce
Confined space entry
Working at heights
Commissioning
Pre-start-up safety training, including
Quantitative Risk Assessment per unit

Sustainable Development initiatives

Environment
Development of pollution control policy including:
Low NOx and SOx emissions with continuous monitoring and control
Closed drain systems to prevent soil contamination
Waste water treatment unit to upgrade reaction water up to irrigation water
quality (irrigation of 2 hectares of land newly planted with trees), cooling
water quality and demineralised water quality
Waste management, recycling of wood, metals, and plastic

Employment of local workforce

Wherever possible, use was made of local skills for example in workshops, and
for maintenance and transportation activities.

Traditions
The work was carried out in the respect of local traditions and holidays.

This document is the property of Technip and is not intended to be a binding contractual document.
Any information contained herein shall not result in any binding obligation on the part of Technip, or
any of its affiliates, and is provided for information purposes only.
Technip - Group Communications - September 2011 - Photo credits: Technip