The last of 72 ROBICON Perfect Harmony variable frequency drives runs online in the LNG "Mega-Train"

Siemens completes the world's largest LNG "train"

Thursday, May 12, 2011 14:00 CET

The last of 72 ROBICON Perfect Harmony variable frequency drives runs online in the LNG "Super Train"

Atlanta, May 12, 2011 – Siemens Industries announced that it has successfully completed the world’s largest onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) compressor "large train" for Qatar Gas Company in Qatar, the Middle East. The last of 72 Siemens ROBICON Perfect Harmony Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) has been installed and put into use.

Qatar is at the top of the world's third largest natural gas reserves. These new LNG projects enable the country to increase its overall LNG production capacity to 77 million tons per year to meet the needs of global LNG buyers.

In addition to 72 ROBICON Perfect Harmony variable frequency drives, Siemens' scope of supply also includes 72 VFD control cabinets and 4 33KV switch cabinets. The first order for the original 12 drives was in 2004.

The project is located in Ras Laffan Industrial City, about 50 miles north of Doha, the capital of Qatar, and lasted for five years. Doug Keith, President of the Drive Technology Department of Siemens Industries Ltd. said: "The climax of this project is huge because it involves the hard work and dedication of hundreds of Siemens team members in dozens of countries."

Agnes Armstrong, Qatar LNG project team leader and manager, said that the large-scale scale of the series of projects and the number of partners working hard to complete the project demonstrated a true teamwork approach to showcase Siemens products, applications and solutions.

"Our team continues to work with Qatargas to meet the quality and safety requirements of our customers so that the work is done well," Armstrong said.

The Siemens ROBICON Perfect Harmony 45 MW VFD manufactured in New Kensington, Pennsylvania is used as the main refrigerant compressor (MR, C3 and N2 lines) in large LNG trains. These drives play a key role in the liquefaction of natural gas, which can be liquefied and transported to the waiting tankers in the Persian Gulf.

The variable frequency drive controls the speed/torque of the large 45 MW electric motor/generator used to start the gas turbine and gas compressor unit. In addition to starting the gas turbine, the Siemens ROBICON Perfect Harmony variable frequency drive can also help the gas turbine run more efficiently when the train is running at high ambient temperatures. The power produced by a gas turbine depends on the air temperature.

In winter, when the air is cool, gas turbines sometimes produce more power than the compressor requires. The Siemens ROBICON Perfect Harmony variable frequency drive can direct this excess energy back to the grid through the motor (as a generator) to improve overall energy consumption. In order to cope with the high temperature in summer, these variable frequency drives can provide up to 45 megawatts of extra power to the compressor unit to keep it running smoothly.

Siemens ROBICON Perfect Harmony variable frequency drive was also selected for this project because of its high reliability. These drives also have the best electrical waveforms on the market, provide excellent smooth rotation performance for the compressor, and provide the highest waveform quality for the Qatar power grid system. This greatly reduces harmonic distortion that may negatively affect the performance of the grid.

Siemens Industry

Siemens Industries is the US branch of Siemens' global industrial division business, which is a leading global supplier of production, transportation and construction technology solutions. The company's integrated hardware and software technologies provide industry and infrastructure providers with comprehensive industry-specific solutions to improve their productivity, sustainability and profitability. The industrial sector consists of six sectors: construction technology, industrial automation, industrial solutions, mobility, drive technology and OSRAM. Siemens Industry has nearly 204,000 employees worldwide, with global profits of US$4.7 billion and revenue of US$47.3 billion in fiscal 2010. www.usa.siemens.com/Industry

Drive technology

The Drive Technology Department is a division of Siemens Industries and is a leading global supplier of electromechanical products, applications and solutions covering the entire transmission system. Drive Technologies is a global leader in energy-saving motors and drives, as well as products and services for production machinery and machine tools. Technologies include standard products, industry-specific control and drive solutions, as well as mechatronics support and online services for web-based fault management and preventive maintenance. Drive Technologies provides customers with energy-efficient products uctivity and reliability in industries as diverse as clean and renewable energy, transportation, oil and gas, utilities, metals and mining, machinery manufacturing and machine tools. With nearly 36,000 employees worldwide, the Drive Technologies Division posted worldwide revenues of $9.5 billion in fiscal year 2010. www.usa.siemens.com/drives