Development of Innovative LNG production, Transportation and Regasification System

Daniel Fransiskus Sinaga 4208 100 105

Teknik Sistem Perkapalan Fakultas Teknologi Kelautan Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya 2011

Development of economic means of gas transportation to long distance has been important technical and economic tasks in gas industries. Natural gas has attracted attention as future and growing energy source with potential abundance an environmental benefits. Natural gas is transported by pipeline grid or as LNG or as compressed natural gas. Usually its depending on geographical distances or other factor, economic means of transportation is selected. LNG has been widely used as long distance transportation men especially for international trades. Contrary to oil, LNG needs special handling in production, transportation, and regasification along with boil off gas treatment and safety provisions against flammable gas. Current LNG chain adopts ambient pressure with -161cstorage temperature, because the condition is believed cost effective. NEW TYPE CLUSTER LNG Increased Pressure Liquefaction: Since end-user always need as gas form, the LNG maybe considered as interim product. In DSME developed system, the LNG is liquefied at increased pressure instead of ambient pressure to have overall efficiency. Cluster Type LNG Containment: The large amount of produce LNG At increased pressure is effectively stored in cluster of pressure vessels. Since large volume of pressure vessel cannot be fabricated practically, cluster of multiple pressure pressure vessel are more appropriate for the application. Integrated LNG System-Cluster Energy-cluster LNG: the increased pressure cluster LNG with requires less refrigeration power, brings overall economy by cutting the liquefaction cost significantly.with the reason, the cluster LNG can be implemented in small and medium scale LNG production. On the other hand, since the cluster LNG is not compatible with the conventional LNG chain, consistent storage pressure requirement has to be followed. Characteristics of cluster LNG: though Cluster LNG has similar Characteristics with conventional LNG exeptthe storage pressure, the increased pressure requires additional safety considerations. The cluster LNG has some similarities with

pressurized LPG case except the low temperature storage and insulation requirements. Typical pressure Insulation Typical Volume Cluster LNG 10 30 bar Necessary 100 1000m3 LPG LNG Less than 30 bar Less than 0.25 bar Not necessary Necessary Small (as small as Very large 3 0.005 m ) (typically above 3 100000m ) Each consumers Company level (not accessed by each individuals) Dependent on Well controlled by each individuals company level Automobile, home Large utility cooking companies

Operated and maintained by Safety control Typical consumer

Company level (not accessed by each individuals) Well controlled by company level Power plant operator

Cluster of producers and Consumers : economy of the cluster LNG enables monetization of stranded small gas fields, otherwise cannot be developed due to high unit cost of produced LNG. Multiple small and medium gas fields maybe closely linked with multiple consumers. Affordable Energy: the cluster LNG concept may activate stranded gas development, which may ultimately bring affordable energy to many people around the world, and contribute to human life in many aspects. Cost Composition of Cluster LNG LNG production and regasfied natural gas prices are determined bya many sectors of LNG and natural gas chain. LNG cost at production plant is composed of feedstock gas and LNG production cost. And the final natural gas price at consumer is the sum of LNG cost at exporting terminal and the cost for transportation, regasification, and local pipeline distribution. Considered that LNG producer competes with other LNG producers and other types of energy, and that consumers choose energy with price rather than brand

name or other reasons, the unit price competitiveness would be important in LNG business. In cluster LNG, LNG production cost is reduced very nuch with simplified gas treatment and high liquefaction efficiency. Features of Cluster LNG gas treatment : as the the case of conventional LNG, cluster LNG also needs gas treatment of acid gas removal and dehydration. CO2 removal process : CO2 removal system needs large energy, space, and complicated piping and equipment, and it is very difficult and costly parts of gas treatment. CO2 removal sometimes can be critical part in LNG liquefaction by causing ice formation and plugging in sensitive cryogenic heat exchangers. Liquefaction process : propane pre-cooled mixed refrigerant, single mixed refrigerant, and nitrogen expander liquefaction processes are usually used LNG plants. Refrigerant : there have been many process evaluation in terms of efficiency and safety and some vendors claim that nitrogen expander cycle has benefits in the overall safety in small and medium size LNG plants. Coldbox : though cold-box does not have any rotating parts, the reliability is important for the overall plant availability. Cluster LNG Containment System : It adopts pressure vessel type design.because of limitation in available steel plate thickness and fabrication difficulties, each cluster LNG tank size is limited to 200 500 m3 Cluster LNG Transportation the containment system for cluster LNG transportation also adopts cluster type storage tank, therefore, LNG carrier with special insulation system is not necessary. The vessel for the cluster LNG transportation can be very simple as the cluster LNG storage tanks can be mounted in conventional containerships or bulk carriers with some modifications.

Cluster LNG Regasification Cluster LNG regasification is composed of cluster LNG containment system, high pressure LNG pump and vaporizer. Similar concept used in existing LNG receiving terminals can be applied. Distributed concept : the distributed concept of cluster LNG is ideal for small and medium gas fields and consumers with its inherent cost-effectiveness. At the same time, the concept can be applied to large scale LNG plants as well provided appropriate consistency from production, transportation, and regasification is maintained. Verification of Cluster LNG Though liquefaction processes closely follow thermodynamic theories, overall reliability, equipment performances, components, and control philosophies have to be verified before actual hardware implementation. Bench Scale Pilot Plant (BSPP) The purposes are: Process verification of the cluster LNG Derivation of optimum refrigerant compositions Finding performance indices Control scheme evaluation Functioning of cluster LNG containment system LNG loading and unloading operation Boil-off measurement

From the liquefied amount the input electric power, process performance has been evaluated, and performance values for each experiment cases have been compared with theoretical values from HYSYS simulation. Depending on liquefaction operational requirements, bubbles point operation or sub-cooled operation could be achieved.

Cluster LNG storage : the liquefied cargo is stored in the increased pressure cluster LNG storage tank. Several conditions have been tested in terms of liquefaction power and operational safety. No specific problems at increased pressure LNG storage have been observed. Boil-off Gas Generation : the cluster LNG boil-off gas generation amount has been measured, and the measurement were in line with theoretical calculations. Refrigerant Variations : liquefaction performances for various refrigerants have been evaluated, and found good agreement with theoretical values. Loading and Uloading Operation : liquefied cargo operation for cluster LNG process have been done in various operation cases, and no significant operational or safety concerns have been found. The operation studies include cases normal unloading, and sudden pump trip, emergency shut down, equipment and instrument malfunction, and mistakes by human errors. Project Implementation After BSPP test, cluster LNG development team expects to build commercial demonstration plant in collaboration with a potential client. Though the cluster LNG can be applied to large scale LNG project, it might take time to be accepted by conservative LNG industries. Therefore, large scale LNG plant application may be initiated later than first commercial demonstration plant. To reduce overall project time, feed gas maybe drawn from existing pipeline in case of first cluster LNG application. Since the produce cluster LNG can be shipped to typically 100 2000 km distance, natural gas price difference of 3 5 USD/mmbtu between 2 locations maybe candidate for the cluster LNG development.some diesel engine vendors have solutions for converting from oil fired diesel engine to gas fired one. The cluster LNG is ideal for the diesel power plant application by providing high pressure natural gas from the cluster LNG.

SUMMARIES AND CONCLUTIONS New concept cluster LNG has been developed as cost-effective for small and medium LNG chain. The basic design developments of the cluster LNG in liquefaction, transportation, and regasification have been completed. The performance of the cluster LNG has been verified with bench scale pilot point. The cluster LNG is ready for commercial demonstration and full-fledged plants. The cluster LNG will activate developments of stranded gas field around world.

Advanteges

Cluster LNG At increased pressure it requires less power Lower density Boiling temperature of the increased pressure is high Can be implemented in small or medium scale LNG production Can extend localization of equipment and

FSRU

CONVENTIONAL At increades pressure, it requires higher power More cost Need complicated BOG treatment during transportation

Disadvantages

plant construction Low cost simplification of the gas treatment system doesnt need BOG treatment during transportation very difficult and costly part of gas treatment in CO2 Removal process requires more power at liquefaction process