The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada with other officials during the workshop.
Doha: Qatar Petroleum (QP) in partnership with Maersk Oil Qatar, Qatar University’s Energy and Environmental Law Forum and Qatari Diar Vinci Construction (QDVC) organised a workshop on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) yesterday at the Diplomatic Club in Doha.
The workshop was attended by professionals from the academia, energy and construction sectors, and it focused on lessons learned from the Al Shaheen gas gathering and flare reduction project and it also explored future CDM opportunities for Qatar.
In his keynote address, the Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada stressed on the importance of the CDM concept as a vital project that supports the pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030 as well as the National Development Strategy. “The State of Qatar has ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is committed to participate in the international efforts to combat the climate change challenges,” he said.
“Pursuing this objective, Qatar had registered the first CDM project in the Gulf region in 2007 and paved the way to help register more of such projects from the region,” he added.
Also present at the workshop was Sheikh Faisal bin Fahad Al Thani, Deputy Managing Director of Maersk Oil Qatar, the company that operates the giant Al Shaheen oil field in close partnership with QP. The Al Shaheen field is Qatar’s largest offshore oil field and is the source of around one-third of Qatar’s daily oil production.
Sheikh Faisal said that “together, QP and Maersk Oil have successfully reduced gas flaring from the Al Shaheen field to an absolute minimum — a rare accomplishment in the industry. A 90 percent reduction in flaring between 2007-2011 and more than a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions during the same period were achieved by capturing previously flared gas and turning it into clean electricity, thereby increasing the national electricity supply, providing employment and transferring technical knowledge to local industry.”
As a result of its approach to environmental management, the project’s gas gathering system was recognised as the world’s largest CDM project. QP’s HSE Regulations and Enforcement Directorate is currently working with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to validate the CDM application.
Saif Al Naimi, Director of the HSE Regulations and Enforcement Directorate, added that the project itself is another milestone for the energy industry and the state of Qatar. “The CDM project reaffirms our commitment to environmental protection,” he stressed.
Expressing his gratitude Dr Al Sada for his supportRudiger Tscherning, Director of the Energy and Environmental Law Forum, welcomed the delegates to the workshop and highlighted the importance of the event, which took on a particular relevance in light of the forthcoming 18th Conference of Parties (COP18) of the UNFCCC, which will be held in Doha on November 26-December 7 this year. Mr. Tscherning remarked that the Energy and Environmental Law Forum has rapidly grown in strength since its launch by His Excellency in 2011.
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