May 29, 2019 | 3 minute read
We're excited to announce the opening of our new service center in Qatar!
The John Crane Turbomachinery Center of Excellence in Qatar--Ras Laffan was officially launched on April 24, with a formal ceremony where leadership from John Crane, Al-Ahed Trading and Contracting Co., Qatargas and Qatar Petroleum were in attendance.
The event opened with Mr. Abdulaziz Al Muftah, Vice President, Industrial Cities Directorate, Qatar Petroleum, giving a welcome speech, followed by a brief presentation from Mr. Jassim Al Mansoori, Vice Chairman and CEO of Al-Ahed Holding. From John Crane, Jean Vernet, Ruben Alvarez and Aziz Sallie all gave speeches on the significance of the service center opening, how it will help to increase localization efforts in the country, and discussed John Crane's 40-year partnership with Al-Ahed and the unique capabilities the service center offers.
In addition, Mr. Mohamed Al-Sherawi, Technical Support Division Manager of Qatargas, offered a testimonial speech about the importance of this service center and how it will deliver critical repair and testing services to local companies in Qatar.
Following the speeches, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony, as well as VIP and customer tours of the new facility. In all, there were over 60 customers in attendance, in addition to 25 members from local press.
The service center was opened in partnership with Al-Ahed, one of Qatar’s leading oil and gas, and energy service providers, and marked a historic milestone as Qatar’s first dry gas seal and testing facility.
For nearly 40 years, Al-Ahed has represented John Crane within Qatar, providing a range of John Crane products and multidisciplinary services to oil and gas customers within the region. This service center comes as part of our commitment to continue investing in and developing a network of global service centers, as well as bolster support for local customer service needs.
Located in the Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLIC) security area, an industrial hub approximately 80 kilometers north of Doha, Qatar, which serves as Qatar’s main production site for liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid products, the new service center is Qatar’s first dry gas seal repair and testing facility. The new service center will provide us with the capabilities necessary for aftermarket support for our customers within the region, while also allowing us to deliver quick turnaround service capabilities and reduce downtime costs.
“John Crane has been supporting energy sector companies in Qatar since the first compressors with dry gas seal technology were installed in the country,” said Ruben Alvarez, Executive Vice President, Sales and Aftermarket. “Our continuous investment in local capabilities, such as our existing wet seal service center and the request from our customers for local support, as well as a higher level of technology and service differentiation, clearly marked our strategy to commit to this investment.”
The Ras Laffan service center increases our localization efforts in the country, which closely aligns with Qatar’s energy sector vision. The opening of the center brings highly critical service and repair capabilities to Qatar, and provides support for local companies within the oil and gas, petrochemical, fertilizer, and power generation markets.
Capabilities include:
- Repair and testing of dry gas seals: The service center bolsters John Crane’s capabilities to delivery highly critical services to repair and test dry gas seals locally within Qatar, and enables John Crane to provide end-to-end solutions to oil and gas customers. The service center includes spare part stocking services, along with the repair and balancing of standard and high-pressure couplings.
- Local expertise: The facility will add local expertise to provide critical service capabilities that will help to reduce customer lead time, as well as reduce delivery and shipment costs.
“Considering local logistics, Qatari customers are demanding critical services like gas seal repair and testing,” continued Alvarez. “We are proud to be working with the government of Qatar, as well as Qatar Petroleum, to drive the localization of critical manufacturing and service capabilities.
Establishing this first-of-its-kind facility within Qatar will allow us to dramatically reduce maintenance and shipping costs, while also decreasing delivery lead times.”
Phase two of the service center will bring additional capabilities to cover wet seal product services and support.
Our other service facility, located in the Salawa Industrial Area, in proximity to Doha, will continue to extend wet seal repair services to oil and gas customers within the region.