Christian Comair is a Lebanese-Canadian engineer who has amassed a wealth of experience supervising large-scale projects. Kristian Comair acquired the French energy company Sofregaz, saving the business from bankruptcy, conserving its staff, and restoring it to profitability. This article will take a closer look at Sofregaz, with a particular focus on its CO₂ projects.
Launched in 1959 by Gaz de France, Sofregaz is a leading independent engineering company whose focus extends far beyond traditional energy sources, with the company having ventured into emerging frontiers such as hydrogen, carbon capture, ammonia, and CO₂ utilization. Sofregaz’s mission is to engineer its clients’ vision, transforming their ambitions into reality. The embedded video provides further insight into Sofregaz’s business lines.
Over the years, Sofregaz has been proud to partner with clients all over the world, spearheading several pioneering CO₂ projects, including the Apollo CO₂ Export Terminal, the Callisto Project, and the GOCO₂ Project. The attached infographic contains some eye-opening statistics on the global CO₂ utilization industry.
At the Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG terminal in France, Sofregaz was proud to partner with Elengy on the GOCO₂ liquefaction, storage and export terminal, providing pre-FEED studies. This ongoing project includes a review of conceptual studies to assess technical assumptions, validate input data, and establish a firm foundation for the pre-FEED. Deliverables include a quality plan, document list, project execution plan, and concept review report including screening of technical options. Under Phase 2 of the development project, Sofregaz will provide a multidisciplinary engineering package addressing major components such as civil works, marine facilities, piping and layout, project management, process design, and safety and environmental factors.
At the Cavaou & Tonkin LNG Terminal in France, Sofregaz completed a CO₂ liquefaction feasibility study for Elengy in 2024. An innovative initiative created to reduce the environmental impact of nearby industries, the Callisto facility collects CO₂ emissions, liquefying the CO₂ ready for export via LCO₂ carriers. Forming part of a broader effort to promote sustainable industrial practices through the efficient management of carbon emissions, the Callisto Project involved the exploration of potential synergies with the LNG terminal’s existing infrastructure, ensuring this was leveraged to full effect to facilitate the CO₂ liquefaction process while simultaneously reducing overall project costs. A leader in CO₂ management solutions, Sofregaz was entrusted with conducting the feasibility study for the project, which incorporated thorough analysis of both synergy-based and standalone liquefaction approaches, including cost estimates, safety assessments, design and process simulations, and feasibility studies on existing LNG terminal facilities.
