LNG(Liquified Natural Ga

LNG

LNG
Liquefied natural gas(LNG) isnaturalgas
(predominantlymethane, CH4) that has been
convertedtoliquidformforeaseofstorageor
transport.
Liquefied natural gas takes up about 1/600th
the volumeof naturalgasin thegaseousstate.
It
isodorless,colorless,non-toxicand
non-corrosive. Hazards include flammability
aftervaporizationintoagaseousstate.

 World wide there are 23 LNG exports

terminals,54 import terminals and 224 ships
altogetherhandlingapproximately142million
metric tons of LNG every year. There are
currently over 240 peak shaving and LNG
storage facilities world wide, some operating
sincethemid60s.

The Origins

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes

Liquid Helium (1908)

OriginofLNG
Naturalgasliquefactiondatesbacktothe19thcenturywhen
BritishchemistandphysicistMichael Faraday experimented
withliquefyingdifferenttypesofgases,includingnaturalgas.
GermanengineerKarlVonLindebuiltthefirstpractical
compressorrefrigerationmachineinMunichin1873.
ThefirstLNGplantwasbuiltinWestVirginiain1912and
beganoperationin1917.
ThefirstcommercialliquefactionplantwasbuiltinCleveland,
Ohio,in1941.
TheLNGwasstoredintanksatatmosphericpressure.The
liquefactionofnaturalgasraisedthepossibilityofits
transportationtodistantdestinations.InJanuary1959,the
world'sfirstLNGtankerset in service

British Gas Canvey Island LNG

terminal, A world first

LiquefiedNaturalGas(FactsandFigures)
LNGistheworldsfastestgrowingenergyoptionoverlast2decades
Thetradehasgrown4timesinlast30years
GeographicaldistributionofNGreservesareverydifferentfromoilreserves
eg.ofoilreservesarewithOPECcountries,equivalentfigureforgasreserves
inOPECisonlyabout1/3rd
63%ofprovengasreservesarelocatedinjust5countriesviz.

Countries
Reserves (BCM)

Russia

47650

Iran

28130

Qatar

25360

Saudi Arabia

7070

UAE

6060

NATURAL GAS : SOME

FIGURES

WORLD GAS RESERVES

Worldgasreserves:187Tm3
(6621TCF)
40%ofthereservesinMiddle-East
53%ofthereservesinIran,Russia,
Qatar
Between1990and2010,MiddleEastreserveshaveincreasedbya
factor

Why LNG? What is the

importance?
Supplylocationsdifferentfromdemandlocations

Tocreatelessdependenceonoillobbyingcountries

RisingdemandforNaturalGasbasedapplications

Monetizingmarginalgasfieldswhichmightbeuneconomicaltotransportingaseousstate

Offshoresourcelocationswhichmightbeuneconomicaltotransportingaseousstate

TechnologicaldevelopmentinprocessingofLNG

SecurelongtermmarketpresenceforNaturalGas

Asastorageoption

PureformofNaturalgas

Environmentalawareness

The LNG value chain from the producing region to the

consuming region is shown in the figure below

AtypicalLNGprocess
Thegasisfirstextractedandtransportedtoaprocessingplant
where it is purified by removing any condensates such as
water,oil,mud,aswellasothergasessuchasCO 2andH2S.
An LNG process train will also typically be designed to
remove trace amounts of mercury from the gas stream to
prevent mercury amalgamizing with aluminium in the
cryogenicheatexchangers.
The gas is then cooled down in stages until it is liquefied.
LNGisfinallystoredinstoragetanksandcanbeloadedand
shipped.

 Theliquefactionprocess involves removal of

certain components, such as dust,acidgases,
helium,water,andheavyhydrocarbons,which
couldcausedifficultydownstream.Thenatural
gas is thencondensedinto a liquid at close to
atmospheric pressure (maximum transport
pressure set at around 25kPa (4psi)) by
cooling it to approximately 162C
(260F).

LNG Chain (conventional)

GasField
Gastreatmentplant
GasLiquefactionplant
GasTransportation
Re-gasificationTerminal
LNGInLandtransportation(Pipeline,Roadtankersetc.)

LNG Chain (conventional)

GasField
-Provenreserves
-Associated/NonAssociatedgasfields
-MarginalGasfields
-Onshore/Offshoregasfields
Gastreatmentplant
-Dehydration (Location:Neargasproducingfield)
-Gassweetening (Location:Atliquefactionplant)
-Co2removal (Location:Atliquefactionplant)
-Mercuryremoval (Location:Atliquefactionplant)
-HighHC/condensateremoval(Location:Atliquefactionplant)

LNG Chain (conventional)

GasLiquefactionplant
Liquefactiontechnologyisprimarilyacryogenicandlowtemperaturegas
processingdependingonefficientuseoflowtemperatureheattransfer.
-Cascadecycle
-Mixedrefrigerantscycle
LNGStorage
-FullContainmenttank
-DoubleContainmenttank
-SingleContainmenttank

LNG Chain (conventional)

GasTransportationbyship
-Membranedesign
-Invar(36%Nickelsteelalloy)strip
Re-gasificationTerminal
-OffShoreterminal
-Onshoreterminal
-FSRU
LNGInLandtransportation(Pipeline,Roadtankersetc.)

LNG chain (trends)

Drying,
purification

Liquefaction

Storage and Shipping

Terminal

Consumer

Delivery

Liquefactio
n

Gas pipeline
= 1 7.5 MPa

Gas Supply

Reserve Fuel

Engine Fuel

Mini Energy

33

LNG Technology
Overcome challenges and meet
demand
with innovation

NLNG: Capacity 22 mtpa in 2007, 8 years after start

up of Train 1

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