An ambitious Coral Management Programme focused on sustaining and preserving Qatar’s marine biodiversity has been successfully overseen by Qatargas, in collaboration with the former Ministry of Municipality and Environment and Qatar University.

The Coral Management Programme (CMP) undertaken by Qatargas is aligned with the Environmental Developmental Pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Qatar National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2025. It is based on artificial reef deployment and coral relocation, as well as the first of its kind land-based coral nursery. 

Also under the programme is a long-term comprehensive plan to monitor the relocated corals. These relocation zones will eventually be handed over to the now Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, and become part of Qatar’s protected natural reserve.

Qatargas has played an important role in preserving the country’s marine biodiversity. Since 2007 the company has relocated more than 12,000 live corals from nearshore pipelines to offshore protected areas, including over 1,200 artificial reef modules at several marine locations around Qatar. These locally made reef modules use an environmentally friendly low pH concrete mix and were installed following comprehensive Marine Environmental Assessments (MEAs).

Qatargas’ Coral Management Programme has been implemented to mitigate the North Field Production Sustainability (NFPS) Project. As part of the programme, over 150 sets of hybrid artificial reefs were deployed near Al Ghariya in northern Qatar. These reef modules were locally fabricated using an environmentally-friendly concrete mix, and deployed following a comprehensive Marine Environmental Assessment of the Al Ghariya site. The deployment was followed by meticulous relocation of 1,250 live corals from the NFPS project site to Al Ghariya.

The CMP also includes the establishment of a unique land-based Coral Nursery at the Aquatic Fisheries Research Center (AFRC) in Ras Matbakh in northern Qatar. Over 400 live corals were taken to the nursery for coral husbandry and the extracted corals were rehabilitated and fragmented. The fragmented corals were then out-planted to carefully selected recipient sites north of Sheraoh Island. In order to see first-hand and have a better understanding of the nursery programme, a team of officials from the Ministry, Qatargas and QU paid a visit to the AFRC lab, discussing the project with the scientists and researchers. 

The Coral Nursery can potentially become a National Coral Bank, which will allow it to contribute to future marine biodiversity and coral protection projects, both in Qatar and the region. It will additionally optimise the Technological Readiness Level (TRL) of the procedures and facilities for propagation of local coral species in a land-based nursery. This unique programme is expected to pave the way forward for sustainable marine ecosystem preservation methods.

Why it is important to preserve coral reefs

Coral reefs host a unique and fragile ecosystem that is under threat from human activities and global warming. The reefs are built on a symbiotic relationship between sea animals (scleractinian corals) and micro-algae (zooxanthellae). Despite occupying less than 0.1% of the ocean floor, they are home to 25% of all marine species, further highlighting their crucial role in marine biotopes.

Coral reefs are primarily located in shallow coastal areas, providing a range of ecosystem services and helping protect shorelines from erosion and waves. Carbon is trapped in the calcium carbonate skeletons, meaning that corals can create a large amount of carbon to reduce levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.

QU was part of another collaboration in 2021 with the TotalEnergies Research Center-Qatar (TRC-Q). Under the project, 18 REEF modules will be submerged 20 m into the water with the colonised modules relocated after two years to test their mobility. This trial is to be included in a thesis on coral restoration and underwater monitoring and is part of TotalEnergie’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of their operations.  

The REEF project began in 2016 in partnership with Seaboost, a company that develops and provides eco-design solutions for better environmental integration of maritime structures into their ecosystem. This is achieved by developing an artificial object (a REEF module) with similar characteristics like structure, porosity and pH, to encourage coral larvae (planulae) to settle, develop and survive. Once colonised by the coral, the REEF module is relocated to a damaged site to allow reseeding by larvae to ultimately restore large areas of coral reefs over long distances.


This isn’t Qatargas’ first initiative to protect the environment. In November 2018, the Jetty Boil-Off Gas (JBOG) Recovery Facility was awarded a Qatar Sustainability Award by the Qatar Green Building Council, a member of Qatar Foundation. The awards recognise the contributions of individuals, institutions and organisations in furthering sustainable development and environmental protection in Qatar and beyond, and are supported by the Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development. 

Initiated by QatarEnergy (formerly Qatar Petroleum) in 2004, and built and operated by Qatargas, the JBOG Recovery Facility minimises flaring at the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) loading berths in Ras Laffan City. Operations commenced in October 2014 from Q-Max ship Zarga, and today recovers more than 90% of the boil-off gas that was previously flared near the jetties. This boil-off gas is collected and transported to a central compressor before returning it to the LNG plants where it is used as fuel gas, or converted back into LNG. 

The JBOG facility reduces jetty flaring by 90% and CO2 emissions by approximately 1.6 mn tonnes per annum, equivalent to the emissions of 175,000 cars. The facility supports the environmental protection and sustainability targets of Qatar National Vision 2030, and also the State of Qatar’s commitment to reduce climate-changing carbon emissions. 


Author: Sarah Palmer

This feature is originally from Marhaba’s Winter 2021/22 Issue – M82, and was updated on 1 May 2023.

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