Qatargas: South Hook LNG Terminal a stepping stone for UK operations 

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) "The South Hook LNG Terminal is a key stepping stone for Qatargas operations in the UK," said Mohammad Al Naimi, General Manager, South Hook LNG terminal, world's largest LNG terminal. The $2bn project will be supplying 20 percent of UK's energy requirements.

"The sheer scale of operations, preparations and finance of such a project, which was first brought into conception 6 years ago is nothing short of ground breaking," said Al Naimi. "What made South Hook successful is our reliability and commitment to safety."

The LNG Terminal which is located at Milford Haven, a small town on the outskirts of Wales, recently completed the first phase of the project. The terminal will have a capacity of 7.8 million tonnes per anum.

"The site of South Hook was practical for us because it is a Brownfield Land, owned by Exxon Mobil, which is a partner in the project," said Al Naimi.

"The fact that it's a brownfield made all paperwork preparations to get a permit for the project easy because it has already been a site used by an industrial pant."

South Hook has so far received five ships including the Mozah, a Q-Max type ship known to be the largest LNG carrier in the world.

"Milford Haven was the natural location of choice for the project," according to Al Naimi.

Milford Haven is located in the west of the UK making it shorter than many potential sites around the kingdom, thus reducing shipping costs. "The site already has an existing jetty which we renovated, and the sea around the area is 19 meters deep making it optimal for large ships to dock," added Al Naimi.

The South Hook LNG terminal has come under some controversy concerning its safety operations by various environmental groups. The media in the UK have picked up on these calls, yet various stakeholders in the project has denied such allegations.

"Our Shareholders are committed to safety which we concider as key to success," said Al Naimi "The safety track record has been near perfect".

Meanwhile Tony Eden the Mayor of Milford Haven says "The Milford Haven Conservatory Board and the Milford Haven Natural have been monitoring the project since its inception and we applied the regulations to make sure that the project pursue the best safety, health and environmentally friendly measures"

"The UK might be the LNG hub for Europe," said Al Naimi adding "Qatargas hopes to play an important role in the gas gridline of the UK".