Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the liquefied form of natural gas, which has a much smaller volume than natural gas in its gaseous form. This liquefied condition is used to facilitate the carriage of natural gas over long distances, often by sea, in specialized tanks.
LNG port terminals are purpose-built port terminals designed to accommodate large LNG carrier ships designed to load, carry and unload LNG. These LNG terminals are located adjacent to a gas liquefaction and storage plant (export), or to a gas regasification and storage plant (import), which are themselves connected to gas pipelines connected to on-shore or off-shore gas fields (export) or to storage and distribution plants (import).
Plant name | Location | Country | Startup date | Capacity (106 tonnes/a ) | Corporation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arzew (CAMEL) GL4Z Trains 1–3 | Algeria | 1964 | 0.3 × 3 = 0.9 | Sonatrach. Shutdown since April 2010. | |
Arzew GL1Z Trains 1–6 | Algeria | 1978 | 1.3 × 6 = 7.8 | Sonatrach | |
Arzew GL2Z Trains 1–6 | Algeria | 1981 | 1.4 × 6 = 8.4 | Sonatrach | |
Arzew GL3Z Train 1 | Algeria | 2013 | 4.7 | Sonatrach | |
Skikda GL K Phase 1 & 2 Trains 1–6 | Algeria | 1972–1981 | Total 6.0 | Sonatrach | |
Skikda GL1k Skikda Train 1 | Algeria | 2013 | 4.5 | Sonatrach | |
EG LNG | Malabo, Bioko Island | Equatorial Guinea [1] | |||
SEGAS LNG | Damietta | Egypt | 2004 | 5.5 | SEGAS LNG |
ELNG IDCO LNG | Egypt | ||||
Nigeria LNG | Bonny | Nigeria | 1999 | Total 22 | NNPC Limited |
Angola LNG | Soyo | Angola | 2013 | 5.2 | |
Coral FLNG | Cabo Delgado Province | Mozambique | 2022 | ENI |
# | Plant name | Location | State | Number of trains | Capacity (mtpa) | Joint venture | Operated by |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | QLNG: Queensland Curtis LNG | Curtis Island | Queensland | 2 | 8.5 | JV | BG Group [12] |
2 | GLNG: Gladstone LNG | Curtis Island | Queensland | 2 | 7.8 | JV | Santos Limited [13] |
3 | APLNG: Australia Pacific LNG | Curtis Island | Queensland | 2 | 9.0 | ConocoPhillips and Origin | Origin Energy |
4 | Karratha Gas Plant | Karratha | Western Australia | 5 | 16.3 | North West Shelf Venture | Woodside Energy |
5 | Pluto LNG | Karratha | Western Australia | 1 | 4.3 | JV | Woodside Energy |
6 | Wheatstone LNG | Barrow Island | Western Australia | 2 | 8.9 | JV | Chevron Corporation [14] |
7 | Gorgon LNG | Barrow Island | Western Australia | 3 | 15.6 | JV | Chevron Corporation [14] |
8 | Ichthys | Darwin | Northern Territory | 2 | 8.4 | JV | INPEX |
9 | DLNG : Darwin LNG | Darwin | Northern Territory | 2 | 3.7 | JV | Santos Limited [15] |
10 | Prelude FLNG | Timor Sea | Australia | 3 | 3.6 | JV | Shell [16] |
Under construction: [24]
The following LNG off-loading and regasification terminals are located in the United States and Gulf of Mexico: [64]
In March 2021 the Russian Government authorised a long-term programme to develop three more LNG plants (plus five more potential plants): [89]
The United States has had a massive shift in LNG terminal planning and construction starting in 2010–2011 due to a rapid increase in US domestic natural gas supply with the widespread adoption of horizontal drilling, combined with hydraulic fracturing petroleum recovery technology. Many brand-new LNG import terminals are planning or have begun addition of liquefaction facilities to operate as export terminals.[ citation needed ]
On 21 November 2019, U.S. regulators approved permits for three new liquified natural gas export terminals in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved permits for Rio Grande LNG, Annova LNG and Texas LNG with each of the three companies intending to build their LNG plant and terminal at the Port of Brownsville. [92] One month after approval, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups asked the FERC to reconsider the permits, saying the agency failed to adequately consider environmental impacts. [93] [ needs update ]
The following six projects are in various stages of planning according to the US Federal regulatory authority as of May 2020. [94]
Operational
Pending Applications
Projects in Pre-Filing
The country also has liquefaction terminals in more remote areas for export, and imports from the Middle East in areas with dense population.
A floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry for the production and processing of hydrocarbons, and for the storage of oil. An FPSO vessel is designed to receive hydrocarbons produced by itself or from nearby platforms or subsea template, process them, and store oil until it can be offloaded onto a tanker or, less frequently, transported through a pipeline. FPSOs are preferred in frontier offshore regions as they are easy to install, and do not require a local pipeline infrastructure to export oil. FPSOs can be a conversion of an oil tanker or can be a vessel built specially for the application. A vessel used only to store oil is referred to as a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel.
Petronet LNG Limited is an Indian oil and gas company formed by the Government of India to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) and set up LNG terminals in the country. It is a joint venture company promoted by the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). Petronet LNG Limited, one of the companies in the Indian energy sector, has set up the country's first LNG receiving and regasification terminal in Dahej, Gujarat, and another terminal in Kochi, Kerala. While the Dahej terminal has a nominal capacity of 17.5 million tonnes per year, the Kochi terminal has a capacity of 5 million tonnes per year. Plans to build a third LNG terminal in Gangavaram, Andhra Pradesh were dropped in October 2019.
Gasum Oy is a Finnish state-owned energy company operating in the Nordics. Gasum owns 18 biogas refineries in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, and is the largest processor of biodegradable waste in the Nordic countries. In addition, Gasum sells wind power and provides various energy market services. It is in the process of building a gas filling station network that will also serve heavy-duty vehicles.
Gulf Gateway Deepwater Port was the first offshore liquefied natural gas LNG import facility.
LNG Hrvatska d.o.o. is a company that operates a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal in Omišalj on the island of Krk, Croatia. It commenced operations on 1 January 2021, with full capacity booked for the next three years.
Snam S.p.A. is an Italian energy infrastructure company.
Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited, commonly known as Nakilat is a Qatari shipping and maritime company. Its LNG shipping fleet is one of the largest in the world, comprising 74 vessels. The company also jointly owns one Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) and 4 very large LPG carriers (VLGCs). Through its in-house ship management, Nakilat manages and operates the four very large LPG carriers and 14 LNG carriers.
Regasification is a process of converting liquefied natural gas (LNG) at −162 °C temperature back to natural gas at atmospheric temperature. LNG gasification plants can be located on land as well as on floating barges, i.e. a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU). Floating barge mounted plants have the advantage that they can be towed to new offshore locations for better usage in response to changes in the business environment. In a conventional regasification plant, LNG is heated by sea water to convert it to natural gas / methane gas.
A liquefied natural gas terminal is a facility for managing the import and/or export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). It comprises equipment for loading and unloading of LNG cargo to/from ocean-going tankers, for transfer across the site, liquefaction, re-gasification, processing, storage, pumping, compression, and metering of LNG. LNG as a liquid is the most efficient way to transport natural gas over long distances, usually by sea.
Klaipėda LNG terminal is a liquefied natural gas import terminal in the port of Klaipėda, Lithuania. It cost US$128 million to construct. The developer and owner of the project is KN Energies.
FSRU Independence, delivered in March 2014 is a LNG carrier designed as a floating LNG storage and regasification unit (FSRU) chartered by KN to be used as a LNG import terminal in Lithuania. The vessel can store 170,000 m3 (6,000,000 cu ft) of natural gas and can supply all of Lithuania's need for natural gas. The vessel started operating in the autumn of 2014. It provides some diversification of Lithuanian gas imports away from Russia.
Grain LNG Terminal is a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal on the Isle of Grain, 37 miles (60 km) east of London. It has facilities for the offloading and reloading of LNG from ships at two jetties on the River Medway; for storing and blending LNG; for truck loading; and regasifying and blending natural gas to meet UK specifications. The terminal can handle up to 15 million tonnes per annum of LNG, has a storage capacity for one million cubic metres of LNG, and is able to regasify up to 645 GWh per day for delivery into the high pressure gas National Transmission System (NTS). The facility is owned and operated by National Grid Grain LNG Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid.
MT GDF Suez Neptune is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, which has been used as a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for LNG at the Aliaga Etki LNG terminal in Aliağa district of İzmir Province, western Turkey between 2016 and 2019.
Botaş Dörtyol LNG Storage Facility is a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Hatay Province, southern Turkey. It is the country's second floating LNG storage facility after the Egegaz Aliağa LNG Storage Facility.
MT MOL FSRU Challenger is a Bahamas-flagged liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, which is currently laid up in Hong Kong.
Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal is Germany's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping terminal, situated near Wilhelmshaven, Germany on the North Sea. It had been in the planning stages since the mid-2010s, and in 2022 gained rapid regulatory authority approval for construction following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the global natural gas supply crisis.
The Höegh Esperanza is a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) ship owned by Höegh LNG Holdings. Since the end of 2022 it is in use at the Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal.
Botaş Saros FSRU Terminal is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Turkey. Owned by the Turkish state-owned corporation BOTAŞ, it is located at the northeastern shore of the Gulf of Saros in Turkey. It will be used for converting LNG imported by LNG carriers back to natural gas using a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), and transferring the natural gas into the national pipeline network system. Projected in 2019, the construction works started in November 2020, and it is expected to be completed in early 2023. All legal efforts to stop the project due to environmental concerns failed.
MT Botaş FSRU Ertuğrul Gazi is a South Korean-built Turkey-flagged offshore support vessel certified as a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) for liquified natural gas (LNG). She is owned by the Turkish petroleum and natural gas pipeline corporation BOTAŞ, and operated by the Norwegian maritime company Wilhelmsen Ship Management, serving at Botaş Dörtyol LNG Storage Facility in southern Turkey. This is the country's first vessel of this type.
Inkoo LNG terminal is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping terminal, situated near Ingå, Finland on the Gulf of Finland. It became operational in January 2023, and received first gas in April 2023, with some shipments for Estonia. The floating regasification equipment and port facility was built to offload marine-shipped LNG to Finland following the cutoff of Russian pipeline gas in the aftermath of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and will have the capability over time to supply gas to the Baltic countries as well.
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