Menzel Ledjmet plant,the new jewel of Algeria gas industry
"This plant is a jewel of the Algerian gas industry," Merabet Abdelhakim, Manager of Menzel Ledjmet (MLE) gas complex project, in the Berkine basin,proudly declared whilst launching the first natural gas shipments to Gassi Touil.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Menzel-Ledjmet-...
The 3 billion cubic meter per year capacity complex, commissioned last Thursday, is the first gas plant in Algeria to use the CO2 incineration techniques, Merabet told the press during a guided visit to MLE site. This plant started production just after the stopping of the 9 billion m3 per year capacity at the Tiguentourine plant because of last 16 January terrorist attack.
Sonatrach and Italian partner ENI wanted to make this project, a model of environmental protection. The incineration technology, according to officials of the association, was more efficient than the landfill technique.
"The CO2 landfill technique is expensive in addition to the environmental problems that may cause in the long term," said Merabet.
In the gas industry, Algeria is attentive to the environment protection issue and bans gas flaring by all companies operating in the mining sector.
A model of environment protection
The MLE complex, also built with another Italian group Saipem at a cost of nearly $ 2 billion, has one of the most successful industrial security systems in the world.
"We do not skimp on the means when it comes to ensuring the industrial security of the production center," said Smail Bellala, CEO of Sonatrach-ENI association.
The complex control room was the first point visited of the site, which access is carefully filtered according to a plan of emergency intervention that allows it to know the number and movement of people in the factory.
The whole complex is controlled directly from the central room with multiple systems that allow the stoppage of the plant and its decompression safely.
The same system can stop separately the functioning the four units of gas, oil, condensate and LPG and carry out remote stoppage of the 24 wells of the two deposits (MLE) and the Central Area Field Complex (CAFC), located 500 km from the center of production in the Berkine basin.
Wet gas, a niche
"The wet gas is a wealth of deposits, like Menzel Ledjmet," Bellala said. Though a lower production in comparison with that of Hassi R’mel, Algeria largest gas field, the MLE reserves contain gas mixed with crude oil, giving it a high added value.
The complex will start with a production of 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to reach 25,000 bpd with the commissioning as from next August, of the deposit CAFC.
Storage facilities for the future production are already completed. In all, the MLE will produce as from the summer of 2013, some 25,000 bpd of crude oil, 12,000 bpd of LPG, 10,000 bpd of condensate and 9,000,000 m3 of commercial gas.
For gas, the two partners began production in late January, with 2 million m3 day , to reach 7 million m3 in March and 9,000,000 m3 in August, which is equivalent to an annual production of 3 billion m3.
This level of production makes the MLE undoubtedly the third largest hydrocarbon project in Algeria, after Hassi Messaoud and El Merk, another deposit located in the basin of Berkine developed by Sonatrach in partnership with the American company Anadarko.
Sonatrach and Italian partner ENI wanted to make this project, a model of environmental protection. The incineration technology, according to officials of the association, was more efficient than the landfill technique.
"The CO2 landfill technique is expensive in addition to the environmental problems that may cause in the long term," said Merabet.
In the gas industry, Algeria is attentive to the environment protection issue and bans gas flaring by all companies operating in the mining sector.
A model of environment protection
The MLE complex, also built with another Italian group Saipem at a cost of nearly $ 2 billion, has one of the most successful industrial security systems in the world.
"We do not skimp on the means when it comes to ensuring the industrial security of the production center," said Smail Bellala, CEO of Sonatrach-ENI association.
The complex control room was the first point visited of the site, which access is carefully filtered according to a plan of emergency intervention that allows it to know the number and movement of people in the factory.
The whole complex is controlled directly from the central room with multiple systems that allow the stoppage of the plant and its decompression safely.
The same system can stop separately the functioning the four units of gas, oil, condensate and LPG and carry out remote stoppage of the 24 wells of the two deposits (MLE) and the Central Area Field Complex (CAFC), located 500 km from the center of production in the Berkine basin.
Wet gas, a niche
"The wet gas is a wealth of deposits, like Menzel Ledjmet," Bellala said. Though a lower production in comparison with that of Hassi R’mel, Algeria largest gas field, the MLE reserves contain gas mixed with crude oil, giving it a high added value.
The complex will start with a production of 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to reach 25,000 bpd with the commissioning as from next August, of the deposit CAFC.
Storage facilities for the future production are already completed. In all, the MLE will produce as from the summer of 2013, some 25,000 bpd of crude oil, 12,000 bpd of LPG, 10,000 bpd of condensate and 9,000,000 m3 of commercial gas.
For gas, the two partners began production in late January, with 2 million m3 day , to reach 7 million m3 in March and 9,000,000 m3 in August, which is equivalent to an annual production of 3 billion m3.
This level of production makes the MLE undoubtedly the third largest hydrocarbon project in Algeria, after Hassi Messaoud and El Merk, another deposit located in the basin of Berkine developed by Sonatrach in partnership with the American company Anadarko.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Menzel-Ledjmet-...