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. [1] LNG as a liquid is the most efficient way to transport natural gas over long distances, usually by sea.
Liquefied natural gas terminals can be classed as: liquefaction terminals for the export of LNG [2] or regasification terminals for the import of LNG. [3] LNG terminals may combine both functions.
A floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is an LNG terminal whose main structure is a special ship moored near a port. As of January 2014 there are operating FSRUs in Brazil, Argentina, Kuwait, Israel, the UAE, Italy, Indonesia, China, Turkey and Lithuania. [4]
Terminal facilities include jetties and piers with articulated loading/unloading arms [5] for transferring LNG between ship and shore. It also includes the piping used to transport LNG between the loading arms and the storage and processing facilities at the terminal. LNG is kept at about −162 °C (−260 °F) to maintain it in a liquid state. Conventional carbon steels are brittle at this temperature. Therefore, special metals are used for this low-temperature cryogenic service where metal is in contact with LNG. Appropriate materials include aluminium alloys with 3 to 5 percent magnesium and high nickel steels containing 9 per cent nickel. [6] The loading/unloading arms and pipework are insulated to prevent heat gain from the air to minimise the vaporization of LNG. [7] Tankers being loaded with LNG displace the vapour volume in their tanks, this gas is routed to boil-off or gas recovery storage tanks. Gas may then be compressed and fed into the local gas network, or it may be routed to the liquefaction plant and returned as liquid to the LNG storage tanks.
A LNG pier is a specialized kind of working pier designed for the loading and offloading of liquefied natural gas to/from ships and shore based tanks.
A LNG pier could accommodate LNG carriers of a range of sizes. [8] They may be capable of handling LNG tankers of 70,000 to 217,000 cubic metres (m3) cargo capacity (Q-Flex); or tankers of 125,000 to 266,000 m3 cargo capacity (Q-Max). [9] The pier would have at least two insulated lines, one for loading and/or unloading LNG and one for vapor supply or recovery as the vapor space above the LNG changes as the cargo is transferred. Ship-based or shore-based cryogenic pumps [10] are used to transfer the LNG to/from the LNG storage tanks on shore.
Some of these piers are very long, up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m), in order to reach to the depth of water required to accommodate LNG tanker traffic.
The LNG flows through the pipelines that connect the loading arms on the jetty to storage tanks. Tanks are usually of double wall construction, with the inner tank constructed of low-temperature alloy. This is surrounded by insulation to reduce heat gain and an outer tank of conventional steel or pre-stressed reinforced concrete. In-ground LNG tanks are also used; these are lined or unlined tanks beneath ground level. [11] The low temperature of the LNG freezes the soil and provides effective containment. The tank is sealed with an aluminium alloy roof at ground level. Historically there have been problems with some unlined tanks with the escape of LNG into fissures, the gradual expansion of extent of the frozen ground, and ice heave which have limited the operational capability of in-ground tanks. [12] All piping connected to the LNG tanks, whether above ground or in-ground, are routed through the top of the vessel. This militates against loss of containment in the event of a piping breach. Tanks may be situated within a bund wall to contain the LNG in the event of a rupture of the tank. [13] This is usually a steel or concrete wall surrounding the tank to half the tank height.
Heat transfer into the tanks causes vaporisation of the LNG. This boil-off gas is routed to a boil-off gas holder. [14] Gas may be returned to an unloading ship to make up the vapor space volume. Alternatively it may be compressed and fed into the local gas network, or it may be routed to the liquefaction plant and returned as liquid to the LNG storage tanks
Regasification is the process of converting LNG from a liquid to a gaseous state. This requires significant quantities of heat energy to supply the enthalpy of vaporization of LNG and to heat it from -162 °C to about 0 to 10 °C (32 to 50 °F) for introduction into a pipeline. Gas may be sent to a main gas transmission system, which typically operates at 70–100 bar. NGL is first pumped as liquid to this pressure. A series of heat exchangers are used to regasify the LNG. These may include submerged combustion vaporisers, [15] or an intermediate fluid exchanger (using propane or other fluids), [16] or the use of waste heat from a nearby plant such as a power station. [17] Final heating of the gas may use air or seawater heat exchangers.
To meet the quality specification of the gas transmission system, the outgoing gas may need to be analysed and enriched or diluted. Propane may be added to enrich the gas and nitrogen to ballast or dilute it. [18] Prior to distribution into a high-pressure transmission system, the regasified natural gas is metered and dosed with a stenching or odorizing agent.
At times of low demand, gas may be withdrawn from a transmission system and liquefied and stored. There are several proprietary systems that are used to liquefy natural gas and turn it into LNG. For full details of processes, see liquefied natural gas.
In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures.
A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion is an explosion caused by the rupture of a vessel containing a pressurized liquid that has reached a temperature above its boiling point. Because the boiling point of a liquid rises with pressure, the contents of the pressurized vessel can remain a liquid as long as the vessel is intact. If the vessel's integrity is compromised, the loss of pressure drops the boiling point, which can cause the liquid to convert to a gas expanding rapidly. If the gas is combustible, as in the case with hydrocarbons and alcohols, further damage can be caused by the ensuing fire.
Cryogenic fuels are fuels that require storage at extremely low temperatures in order to maintain them in a liquid state. These fuels are used in machinery that operates in space where ordinary fuel cannot be used, due to the very low temperatures often encountered in space, and the absence of an environment that supports combustion. Cryogenic fuels most often constitute liquefied gases such as liquid hydrogen.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume of natural gas in the gaseous state (at standard conditions for temperature and pressure).
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.
LNG El Paso Sonatrach was a liquefied natural gas carrier (LNG) of the El Paso Marine Corporation which was active in the late 1970s. Although she was US owned, the ship was registered in Liberia because of tax and economical reasons.
The Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant is part of the northern North Sea Brent oil and gas field system and is located on the outskirts of Cowdenbeath, Scotland. The Mossmorran facilities comprise two plants: the Fife NGL Plant operated by Shell and the Fife Ethylene Plant operated by ExxonMobil. An associated sea-going tanker loading facility is located at Braefoot Bay, 4 miles to the south.
An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Golar Spirit is a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU). It is the world's first FSRU converted from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier.
Compressed natural gas (CNG) carrier ships are those designed for transportation of natural gas under high pressure. CNG carrier technology relies on high pressure, typically over 250 bar (2900 psi), to increase the density of the gas, but it is still 2.4 times less than that of LNG (426 kg/m3). CNG carriers may find their place abreast with the well established technology of liquefied natural gas by LNG carriers as it is economical for medium distance marine transport. Most of the energy consumed for the gas pressurisation can be recovered as electricity using turboexpander while delivering CNG to the inland piping network at unloading jetty/harbour. CNG carriers are also alternate solutions to the undersea pipelines as they have less complicated fast loading and unloading features.
A gas carrier, gas tanker, LPG carrier, or LPG tanker is a ship designed to transport LPG, LNG, CNG, or liquefied chemical gases in bulk.
The Świnoujście LNG terminal is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Świnoujście, in the extreme north-west of Poland near the Polish-German border. The LNG terminal is operated by Polskie LNG S.A., a subsidiary of Gaz-System. The cornerstone for construction was laid on 23 March 2011 and it took its first LNG delivery on 11 December 2015. The terminal's regasification capacity is 5 billion cubic metres per annum. The terminal is currently being expanded and once the expansion is complete in 2023, it will have a capacity of 7.5 billion cubic metres per annum and be able to satisfy about half of Poland's annual natural gas demand. Together with the 10 bcm of natural gas that Poland will receive annually from Norway via the Baltic Pipe natural gas pipeline, the Świnoujście LNG terminal will allow Poland to achieve its long-term goal of becoming fully independent of Russian natural gas, which had previously been the source of almost all of the country's natural gas.
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 marine LNG engine is a dual fuel engine that uses natural gas and bunker fuel to convert chemical energy in to mechanical energy. Due to natural gas’ cleaner burning properties, the use of natural gas in merchant ship propulsion plants is becoming an option for companies in order to comply with IMO and MARPOL environmental regulations. The natural gas is stored in liquid state (LNG) and the boil-off gas is routed to and burned in dual fuel engines. Shipping companies have been cautious when choosing a propulsion system for their fleets. The steam turbine system has been the main choice as the prime mover on LNG carriers over the last several decades. The decades-old system on steam propelled LNG carriers uses BOG. LNG carriers are heavily insulated to keep the LNG at around -160 °C – to keep it liquefied. Despite insulation, the LNG containment area is penetrated by heat which allows for naturally generated boil-off gas (BOG).
Costa Azul LNG is a sea port and natural gas processing center, located 15 miles north of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Opened in 2008, the terminal can process up to one billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. This is the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the North America west coast. LNG carrier ships capable of holding up to 220,000m3 of LNG can dock in the deep water port off the coast to unload LNG. The natural gas from the terminal is used to produce electricity and is fed by pipe lines to factories. The longest pipeline runs north, to the United States. Sempra Energy is a partner in the port with PEMEX. The LNG ship Al Safliya was the first ship to port and unload at Costa Azul. The Al Safliya is a 210,000 cubic meter LNG ship, its LNG was from Qatar. The other Mexican LNG Terminal in the Pacific Ocean is at Manzanillo, Colima, the Manzanillo LNG Terminal.
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 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.
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. From the end of 2022 the FSRU will be used in the Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal.
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