Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has received an order from CMS&A – a joint venture of Chiyoda Corporation and Snamprogetti SpA, one of Italy’s largest engineering firms – for a large LNG (liquefied natural gas) storage tank in Qatar.

The contract was concluded in a consortium with the French company VINCI. The order will mark MHI’s fourth LNG tank installation in Qatar.
Under the contract, MHI will construct an above-ground tank with a storage capacity of 140,000 kilolitres within the Ras Laffan Industrial City, located 80 km north of Doha, Qatar. The LNG Terminal is being developed by Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Ltd II (Ras Gas II), a producer and exporter of LNG, established through a joint venture of Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil RasGas Inc. The new tank with delivery scheduled for April 2007 will be utilised for the fifth LNG train to be built by CMS&A.
Presently three LNG trains are in operation at the Ras Laffan LNG Terminal, and a fourth train is under construction. The fifth train, to have a production capacity of 4.7 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), will be built with start up in early 2007. When the fifth train is completed, the Ras Laffan plant will be a huge LNG exporting terminal with a total production capability approaching 20 MTPA.
“MHI has already delivered three LNG tanks for the first three trains now operating. These precedents, along with the experiences being set by two large LNG tanks currently under construction in Egypt, led to MHI’s winning of this latest order,” an MHI spokesman said.
“At a time when global energy supplies are becoming increasingly tight, consumption of LNG is expanding sharply in recognition of its environmental compatibility, emitting less carbon dioxide and no sulfur oxide compared to other fossil fuels. The increasing demand of LNG is driving plans for construction of LNG depots worldwide, including in Qatar, where an order for another large-scale LNG production facility is scheduled for placement in the near future. On the strength of this latest order in that country, MHI intends to undertake even more vigorous marketing activities going forward.”
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, headquartered in Tokyo, is one of the world’s leading heavy machinery manufacturers, with consolidated sales of 2,373 billion yen ($23 billion) in fiscal 2003 (year ended March 31, 2004). MHI’s diverse lineup of products and services encompasses shipbuilding, steel structures, power plants, chemical plants, steel plants, environmental equipment, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space rocketry and air-conditioning systems.
Among notable orders MHI received in recent weeks was one from Portland General Electric Company (PGE), a regulated electric utility based in Portland, Oregon, US, to supply major equipment for PGE’s Port Westward gas turbine combined-cycle (GTCC) power generation plant.
The 400 MW Port Westward power plant, targeted to start commercial operation in May 2007, is to be constructed at the site located approximately 120 km north of Portland. The new plant will help PGE maintain adequate margin in its electricity supply capability, especially as customers’ future energy needs are forecasted to grow at 2.5 per cent annually. MHI will supply one M501G gas turbine and one steam turbine, both to be manufactured at the company’s Takasago Machinery Works. MHI won the order through Mitsubishi Power Systems, Inc. (MPS), a U.S. subsidiary. MPS will supply a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) through local procurement. Detailed plant engineering work, procurement of the balance of plant equipment, equipment installation and plant commissioning will be separately consigned by PGE to a local engineering firm.
In other MHI news, the company announced it would boost its production capacity in small-size turbochargers by approximately 30 per cent to 3.2 million units per annum, by May 2005, up from the current 2.45 million.
“The move is aimed at responding to increasing demand from automakers, especially in Europe, for small turbochargers that can provide the higher combustion efficiency demanded by today’s tightened emission control standards. The increase in production capacity is to be carried out at an investment of roughly 3 billion yen,” the spokesman said.
The investment will be directed into a production line dedicated to small-size turbochargers for automobiles. Demand for turbochargers of this class is increasing in the European and Asian markets in tandem with strengthening of environmental regulations. In line with this trend, MHI’s small turbocharger sales soared from 1.6 million units in fiscal year (FY) 2003 to a projected 2.3 million this fiscal year, with forecasts anticipating further increases to 3 million in FY 2006.