LNG Industry September 2021 by PalladianPublications

September 2021

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ISSN 1747-1826

CONTENTS 03 Comment

SEPTEMBER

2021

58 Igniting innovation

04 LNG news

Tommaso Olivieri and Daniele Marcucci, Baker Hughes, Italy, share how continuous improvement and innovation can lead to lower emissions in LNG plants.

14 No stopping for Asia's LNG

63 Pump it greener

Ben Smith (Singapore) and Penny Cygan-Jones (UK), Norton Rose Fulbright, explain why the Asian LNG market will be increasingly important to the global LNG industry in the future.

20 Versatility, key for a changing world

Ezequiel Orlandi and Emmanuel Rousseau, GTT, France, detail the maritime industry’s available options for contributing to a more sustainable world.

26 Flying the flag of decarbonisation

Thomas Klenum and Dallas Smith, Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR), look at the decarbonisation of shipping from the perspective of a flag state, and outline how the IMO’s agenda is set to shape the industry.

30 The road to H2

Justin Ellrich and Carina Winters, Blackb&bVeatchbCorporation, USA, explain the role of LNG technology in the hydrogen transition.

36 Gas for a greener future

Paty Ortega Mitchell, Sempra LNG, USA, considers the route to decarbonisation and how the company’s infrastructure is wellpositioned to lead in the energy transition.

40 Trend spotting

Tim Fourteau (Singapore), Alex Woody (Japan), and Yun Yong (Singapore), White & Case, discuss several trends in LNG SPAss and the broader LNG market.

44 Fleets of the future ture

Noah Silberschmidt, Silverstream Technologies, nologies, UK, explains why ercial necessity as the greening LNG carrier fleets is a commercial rbonise. global shipping industry looks to decarbonise.

48 Smooth sailing

Dr Markus Hoffmann, I-TechbAB, Sweden, n, discusses the impact and cost of barnacles and why they matter to LNG’s success as a marine fuel.

53 Problem avoidance nce in

impellers

Hanxiang Jin, Rambabu Chundru, and Brian rian Pettinato, nd torque Elliott Group, USA, discuss fit capacity and NG industry. predictions for impellers used in the LNG

Stefano Calandri, Vanzetti Engineering, Italy, provides an overview of the journey of LNG and the role of cryogenic pumps throughout the stages.

67 Positioned to weather the storms Lyle Hanna, Commonwealth LNG, USA, provides an overview of the 8.4bmillion tpy export LNG terminal project under development in Louisiana, US.

72 Opening the door to business in Ecuador

Nelson Jaramillo Pita, SYCAR LLC, USA, discusses Ecuador’s changing energy landscape and the start of foreign breakthrough into the country’s natural gas and LNG markets.

76 Insulation: 5 reasons why

Jack Bittner, Johns Manville, USA, describes the factors to consider for insulating LNG pipes and mitigating water and vapour from entering a system.

81 LNG invasion phenomenon

David Gomez, Alberto Ramos, and Daniel Rivera, SacyrFluor, Spain, detail a case study of an LNG invasion phenomenon in carbon steel pipes, using dynamic simulation to study the kinetics.

85 Gastech 2021 Preview

LNG Industry previews a selection of companies that will be exhibiting or ubai, UAE (21 - 23 September 202 speaking at this year's Gastech in Dubai, 2021).

100 15 facts on... Asia

ON THIS MONTH’S CO COVER Sempra LNG owns interests in Ca Cameron LNG a ECA LNG in Mexico and is dev and developing aadditional dd ditional LNG export facilities o on the Gulf aand d Pacific Coasts of North Ameri America. Thr Th ough disciplined and innovative innovativ processes, Through S empra LNG is actively advancing the Sempra utilisation of new technology that can significantly reduce the greenhous greenhouse gas emissions associated with the liquefaction liqu process, as part of broader suite of lowercarbon initiatives that can help facilitate fac the global energy transition. www.sempralng.com

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LYDIA WOELLWARTH EDITOR

COMMENT W

ith the door opening on September, it seems to hold an element of majesty and change. For some readers, this month may mark the beginning of new studies at university or the commencement of internships, whilst for some it is the opportunity to wipe the dust from our long-forgotten passports and venture to Dubai, UAE, for some industry networking at the Gastech exhibition and conference. For myself, the majesty comes from the exhilarating prospect of boarding a flight, and the change relates to our departure of working from home and the return of office life. With Gastech’s theme centred on driving the gas, LNG, and energy industry towards a cleaner energy future, it ties in suitably with the hot-off-the-press report from DNV – ‘Energy Transitions Outlook 2021’ – which offers a stark, perhaps disheartening view of the world’s energy system. I use the word disheartening because the report dictates how in its fifth year of publishing its findings, the forecast has minimally changed since the very first forecast in 2017. Though four years may seem like a miniscule space in time, DNV expresses concern that progress in the energy transition has scarcely picked up pace, yet at a time when the influences of climate change are more evident and frightening than ever before. A quick scan of recent headlines from across the globe just reinforces this heightened visibility of climate change – from the devastating wildfires engulfing Greece and California, US, to a heat dome in Canada, and rapid flooding in Germany and Belgium, the list could continue. DNV’s outlook illustrates how the presence of fossil fuels in the global energy mix will slowly lose their position over time, though retain 50% of the mix in 2050. This figure is down from the 80% share that fossil fuels have been accustomed to holding for many years, but at least represents activity in the energy transition. Of the fossil fuel supply, natural gas will take

its place as the leader, taking over oil, and representing 24% of global energy supply in 2050. Unlike all the other fossil fuels which have been forecast to decline gradually over the period in question, natural gas will hold fort, only decreasing in the 2040s. Focusing on the maritime industry, the outlook provides much information on how low and zero-carbon fuels will displace up to 42% of the oil used in shipping, with natural gas (mainly LNG) holding a 39% share. Switching to alternative fuels, and powering LNG fleets in a greener manner, is a topic discussed by many in this month’s issue. GTT (p.20) examines the options available for the maritime industry to improve its sustainability; LISCR (p.26) consider the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) agenda and how it shall shape the industry; and Sempra LNG (p.36) considers the route to decarbonisation, not to mention a whole suite of other splendid articles. Since I can’t seem to write a piece without mentioning the eternal presence of COVID-19, the Energy Transitions Outlook 2021 sheds a sombre light on how this has affected the industry. Whilst from my perspective, the industry has focused on the accomplishments and attempts to adapt and thrive in these weird times – whether it be new digital technologies to allow remote monitoring or innovative training schemes to keep workers informed and knowledgeable – the DNV report explains how, realistically, the pandemic has been somewhat of a lost opportunity, a time when the industry missed the mark. For many, the focus was on protection rather than transformation. This is not a blanket statement. Many exceptions do exist, and from the hive of activity and energy transition plans that are littered throughout this month’s issue, let’s focus on that positivity. Please feel free to pick up a copy of the issue or have a chat with us at Gastech, Dubai, where we will be exhibiting at Booth 2F79.

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LNGNEWS Nigeria

USA

Air Products’ LNG technology selected for NLNG project

Stabilis Solutions and the Galveston Wharves team up on LNG fuelling services

ir Products has signed an agreement with SCD JV S.c.a.r.l, a joint venture (JV) of Saipem, Chiyoda, and Daewoo, for the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) Train 7 project. The project includes one complete LNG train and one combined liquefaction unit. Air Products will provide the main cryogenic heat exchangers (MCHEs) and the process technology for both liquefaction units. Air Products will supply this technology and proprietary processes to the JV for the production of 8 million tpy of LNG in Nigeria for a major LNG production expansion at NLNG’s existing NLNG Bonny Island facility. Air Products previously provided the MCHEs and process technology for the first six trains for NLNG at Bonny Island with initial onstream LNG production from the units beginning in 1999 for the first, to 2007 for the sixth. All six LNG trains continue production today. “Air Products prides itself on product quality and excellent customer service. Our relationship with NLNG points just to that, as we have an established and thriving business relationship spanning over two decades. We are very proud that the original six heat exchangers we built continue operating and that the Train 7 expansion will utilise two additional Air Products’ heat exchangers with delivery targeted for 2023,” said Dr. Samir J. Serhan, Chief Operating Officer at Air Products. Air Products will build the LNG heat exchangers at its Port Manatee, Florida, US, manufacturing facility. Air Products opened its Port Manatee facility in January 2014 and completed a 60% expansion in October 2019 to meet the needs of the ever-growing LNG industry.

alveston Wharves at the Port of Galveston and Stabilis Solutions Inc. have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate the use of LNG as a marine fuel at the Port. Under the terms of the MoU, the Port and Stabilis will work together to provide turnkey LNG fuelling solutions to marine vessels calling on the Port, including identifying suitable dock space for shore-to-ship fuelling operations, obtaining the necessary permits and approvals, identifying and educating potential customers, and executing LNG fuelling events. Stabilis will deploy its existing fleet of mobile cryogenic assets, including LNG transportation and distribution equipment, and provide LNG from its liquefaction facilities in Texas and Louisiana, US, to support LNG fuelling operations. LNG bunkering services are expected to be available in 2021. "The use of LNG as a marine fuel is critical for marine operators to reduce their emissions profile, and Stabilis is building a North American network of LNG bunkering locations to provide this critical service to our marine customers. The Port of Galveston is the second LNG marine fuelling location (along with the Port of Corpus Christi) that Stabilis will operate on the Gulf Coast. As our marine customers pursue their environmental, commercial, and operational goals in the energy transition, Stabilis will be there to support them" said Jim Reddinger, President and CEO of Stabilis. With this partnership providing LNG fuel and services, Stabilis and the Galveston Wharves hope to attract more LNG-fuelled vessels and to encourage additional conversions to LNG fuel.

China

GTT and CCS sign MoU

TT and CCS, the China classification society, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning a technical co-operation for the application of GTT membrane technology. In the framework of this agreement, GTT and CCS will co-operate on the design of China’s LNG inland waterway transportation, small to large LNG carriers, as well as for LNG-fuelled vessels and onshore LNG storage tanks.

September 2021

In-depth technical analysis will be performed by CCS, including technical plan approval of the cargo containment system and risk assessment. Some of the findings will be shared during the Marintec 2021 exhibition in Shanghai, China. GTT and CCS also discussed the current LNG market and other kinds of energy development in domestic and international areas, and finally will consider the low-carbon emission reduction of the ship industry in the future.

LNGNEWS Australia

BHP and Woodside commit to merger

oodside Petroleum Ltd and BHP Group have entered into a merger commitment deed to combine their respective oil and gas portfolios by an all-stock merger to create a global top 10 independent energy company by production. On completion of the transaction, BHP’s oil and gas business would merge with Woodside, and Woodside would issue new shares to be distributed to BHP shareholders. The expanded Woodside would be owned 52% by existing Woodside shareholders and 48% by existing BHP shareholders. The transaction is subject to confirmatory due diligence, negotiation, and execution of full form transaction documents, and satisfaction of conditions precedent including shareholder, regulatory, and other approvals. With the combination of two high quality asset portfolios, the proposed merger would create the largest energy company listed on the ASX, with a global top 10 position in the LNG industry by production. The combined company will have a high margin oil portfolio, long life LNG assets, and the financial resilience to help supply the energy needed for global growth and development over the energy transition. Woodside and BHP have developed a plan to targeted Final Investment Decision (FID) for Scarborough (Australia) by the end of the 2021 calendar year, prior to the proposed completion date for the merger. As part of this plan, Woodside and BHP have agreed an option for BHP to sell its 26.5% interest in the Scarborough joint venture (JV) to Woodside and its 50% interest in the Thebe and Jupiter JV to Woodside if the Scarborough JV takes a FID by 15bDecember 2021. The option is exercisable by BHP in the 2H22 calendar year and if exercised, consideration of US$1 billion is payable to BHP with adjustment from an effective date of 1 July 2021. An additional US$100bmillion is payable contingent upon a future FID for a Thebe development. Both the Woodside and BHP boards of directors confirm their support for the transaction. The merger is expected to be completed in 2Q22 of the calendar year with an effective date of 1 July 2021.

September 2021

USA

Cheniere publishes LNG lifecycle assessment study

heniere Energy, Inc. has announced the publication of a peer-reviewed, LNG lifecycle assessment (LCA) study which allows for improved greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions assessment. The study has been published in the American Chemical Society Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Journal. This analysis utilises GHG emissions data specific to Cheniere’s LNG supply chain from natural gas production through LNG shipping. The use of supply chain specific data provides an improved methodology for GHG emissions accounting and estimates a lower GHG intensity for Cheniere’s LNG relative to other studies utilising generic national or regional data to assess US LNG emissions. The Cheniere LCA is intended to be the foundational analytical tool to estimate GHG emissions to be included in Cheniere’s Cargo Emissions Tags and is expected to be enhanced over time through further collaboration with natural gas suppliers, midstream infrastructure owners, and shipowners. The study is co-authored by individuals from the University of Texas at Austin, Queen Mary University of London, Duke University, KeyLogic Systems, and Cheniere.

THE LNG ROUNDUP X NYK awards hybrid energy system integration contract to WinGD X Eni to deliver carbon neutral LNG cargo to CPC Corporation X GlobalData: Delays force Argentina to purchase LNG at record-high prices Follow us on LinkedIn to read more about the articles

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LNGNEWS Japan

Russia

Gazprom Neft completes construction of Russian LNG bunkering vessel

onstruction of Russia’s first ever bunkering vessel – for LNG refuelling of cargo and passenger ships – is now complete: the final stage of building the Dmitry Mendeleev having involved testing of gas and cryogenic (freezing) equipment, loading systems, and LNG storage and offloading pumps and compressors. The vessel will shortly begin its maiden voyage towards its fixed berthing in the Baltic Sea. This bunkering vessel, named after the great Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleev, will provide ship-to-ship LNG transportation and refuelling at ports throughout the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea – including St Petersburg, Ust-Luga, Primorsk, Kaliningrad, and Vyborg. The vessel is 100 m in length, 19 m wide, and can transport up to 5800 m3 of LNG. Its Arc4 ice-class reinforced hull means it can navigate one-year-old ice (of up to 80 cm thick). The latest shipbuilding and LNG transportation technologies have been utilised on the Dmitry Mendeleev project, in line with the most recent environmental standards governing maritime transport and LNG refuelling processes. The Dmitry Mendeleev is also environmentally friendly, in that it will be using tank-return gas (TRG or boil-off gas) from transported cargo as fuel for its onboard power plant. All LNG bunkering equipment is fully compliant with MARPOL and ECO-S environmental standards. Its integrated digital system means the vessel can be controlled by just one crew member, directly from the navigation bridge.

PETRONAS delivers its first carbon neutral LNG cargo

ETRONAS has completed the delivery of its maiden carbon LNG cargo to Shikoku Electric. The cargo was delivered from the PETRONAS LNG Complex in Bintulu and was received at the Sakaide LNG terminal in Shikoku Island, Japan. PETRONAS has offset the estimated lifecycle carbon footprint of the LNG cargo through renewables-based carbon credits for the emissions generated from upstream gas exploration and production, transportation, liquefaction, and shipping of the cargo. The carbon credits used by PETRONAS for the delivery were certified through a rigorous verification process under the Verified Carbon Standard programme, which is globally recognised and has been adopted by energy players and producers. PETRONAS President and Group Chief Executive Officer, Tengku Muhammad Taufik said, “Reflecting our support of the energy transition and in line with our Statement of Purpose, PETRONAS will continue diversifying our products and offerings to the market, while transforming ourselves to be a cleaner and more sustainable energy provider." In the LNG industry, carbon neutral LNG is seen as a catalyst to spur greater carbon commitments, with a growing number of LNG consumers seeking ways to reduce their carbon footprint. As an integrated energy player, PETRONAS actively seeks collaborations with buyers and end users to achieve their sustainability goals. Beyond the maiden carbon neutral LNG cargo, PETRONAS is also reducing its carbon footprint throughout its LNG and gas value chain. These carbon reduction efforts, among others, include powering the PLC with 90 MW of hydroelectricity, conducting flare recovery, as well as carbon capture and storage from offshore gas fields.

Finland

Gasum wins LNG supply agreement

asum has won the framework agreement in a competitive tendering process organised by the Finnish government central purchasing body, Hansel Ltd. Gasum will supply LNG to the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the Finnish Border Guard for 2021b-b2022 as set forth in the framework agreement. The framework agreement has a two years additional option. LNG as a marine fuel meets the current as well as future emission limits. "Our well-functioning co-operation with Gasum will

September 2021

continue. Our competitive tendering process has helped achieve a framework arrangement that works well in this developing market, with suppliers as well as client needs taken into consideration. The framework arrangement enables government organisations to source LNG with a high level of supply security and with consideration for responsibility aspects. LNG is better shipping fuel than oil for climate and this framework arrangement enables clients to also procure bio version of LNG," said Pasi Tainio, Category Manager, Hansel.

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LNGNEWS Australia

Venice Energy to conduct a study for proposed LNG terminal

enice Energy will initiate a study to assess the feasibility of reversing the flow of gas in the existing Victorian/South Australian pipeline as part of the company’s proposed AUS$200 million LNG import terminal near Port Adelaide, South Australia. Managing Director of Venice Energy, Kym WinterDewhirst says that importing gas into Victoria could significantly ease the looming gas shortages in that state. “Our project will provide competitively priced new gas supplies into both South Australia and Victoria at a time when domestic supply on the east coast is expected to fall dramatically in the coming years,” Mr WinterDewhirst said. “Making the existing Victorian South Australian pipeline bi-directional makes sense, especially as Victoria is the nation’s largest consumer of gas and faces the deepest cuts to domestic supplies,” he said. The study forms part of a larger scope of work underway into pipeline operations to understand where within their network Venice Energy could distribute future imported gas once its project receives approval. Government and other approvals for the LNG import terminal are due in the coming months, followed by an anticipated 12-month construction period from financial close that will see the first shipment of LNG into the facility, and connection to the state’s gas network, by the end of 2022 to early 2023.

Russia

Keel-laying ceremony held for new LNG carrier

ecently, a keel-laying ceremony was held at the Zvezda shipbuilding complex, in Russia's Far Eastern Primorsky region, for the new icebreaking LNG carrier ordered by SCF Group for Arctic LNG 2. This is the first vessel in a series of 14bnew icebreaking LNG carriers ordered by SMART LNG, a joint venture between PAO Sovcomflot and PAO NOVATEK. In total, Zvezda is contracted to build 15 such carriers, with the lead vessel in the series ordered by SCF directly and the remaining sister ships ordered by SMART LNG. The vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2023. The keel has been laid in line with the contractual schedule. Vessels of the new series are designed for year-round LNG transportation in the challenging conditions of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). They are assigned the highest ice class, Arc7. Importantly, these vessels will have increased icebreaking capabilities and manoeuvrability in ice compared with the first generation of icebreaking LNG carriers. The delivery of these new LNG carriers will help facilitate the growth of cargo traffic along the NSR and allow year-round navigation along its eastern part. The commissioning of the LNG carriers will allow for the expedited implementation of national plans to boost cargo traffic along the NSR and to provide year-round navigation in the eastern sector of the Arctic. The new series of gas carriers are 300 m long, 48.8 m wide, and will have a cargo capacity of 172 600 m3. The propulsion system includes three azimuth propulsion units, with a total capacity of 45 MW. All 15 vessels will operate under the Russian flag.

21 - 23 September 2021

04 - 06 October 2021

Gastech Exhibition & Conference 2021

Global Energy Show

ILTA

Calgary, Canada

Houston, USA

Dubai, UAE

www.globalenergyshow.com

https://ilta2021.ilta.org

www.gastechevent.com

15 - 18 November 2021

30 November - 03 December 2021

Downstream USA

ADIPEC

Houston, USA

Abu Dhabi, UAE

21st World LNG Summit & Awards Evening

www.reutersevents.com/events/downstream

www.adipec.com

Rome, Italy

21 - 22 October 2021

www.worldlngsummit.com

September 2021

LNGNEWS Japan

EMSA awards framework contract to RINA

Rystad Energy: Japan unlikely to meet LNG reduction targets

Global

INA has been awarded a framework contract by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to support initiatives to increase the availability of LNG in the mediumterm with small scale bunkering and depots to expand the use of this fuel throughout the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas. This important, strategic project is aimed at reducing environmental impact by making LNG more widely available for a variety of uses including ferries, cruise ships, and tourist activities, as well as promoting LNG road supply chain. RINA will provide a flexible selection of services dealing with safety and feasibility to match project needs in different locations. The services provided by RINA will help port authorities determine which locations are feasible, both in terms of safety and technical and financial viability, to install small scale LNG bunkering or depot facilities. RINA is providing a total of eight different services, from which each port authority can choose according to its goals. The activities include gap analysis of regulatory frame and evaluation of applicable standards, feasibility study, definition of risk acceptance criteria, site analysis, nautical analysis, hazard identification, quantitative risk assessment, and ship collision risk study. Having a common methodology and framework will give nations, where there is a gap in LNG infrastructure, access to a high standard of qualified guidance, regulatory compliance, and safety. Increasing the numbers of ports with LNG refuelling capability will help support the wider adoption of this more environmentally friendly fuel and to meet MARPOL regulations.

apan’s recent revision to its Strategic Energy Plan (SEP) lowers the targeted share of LNG in the country’s power generation mix in 2030 to 20% from 27% previously, as a measure to cut emissions. A Rystad Energy analysis concludes that Japan’s targets are too ambitious to meet and that the changes the new plan will bring will mostly be in the structure of commodities trading. Before Japan outlined its sixth SEP, Rystad Energy already considered the earlier 27% target an underestimation, as the company expects the country’s LNG reliance to be higher in 2030. Rystad Energy’s analysis shows that the new 20% target may somewhat reduce the share of LNG in the energy mix compared to what the company previously expected – but it does not believe that the share will drop lower than 27%. In absolute terms, Rystad Energy calculates that if the sixth SEP’s targets were to be realised, Japan’s LNG demand in 2030 would be cut by 18 million t from the company’s previous estimate of 66 million t. In Rystad Energy’s base case, however, the country’s revised plan is only likely to remove 4.6 million t of demand in 2030, bringing total LNG demand to 61.4 million t, with the entire reduction coming from the power sector. The reason Rystad Energy’s analysis concludes that Japan will fail to meet its new LNG target share is that the plan overestimates the potential contribution of renewables and nuclear in its power generation. Before Japan’s recent revision, Rystad Energy estimated the global LNG supply deficit in 2030 at 104 million t. Based on currently operational and under-construction LNG projects, Japan’s realistic LNG demand reduction of 4.6 million t in 2030 is only a small trimming to the expected deficit and therefore will only have a limited market impact.

The Philippines

AG&P awards EPC contract to CB&I Storage Solutions

cDermott International, Ltd has announced that its CB&I Storage Solutions business has been awarded a contract by Atlantic Gulf and Pacific Company of Manila, Inc. (AG&P) for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of a second LNG storage tank and double-wall LNG bullet for AG&P's Philippines LNG import and regasification terminal called Philippines LNG (PLNG) in Batangas Bay, the Philippines. CB&I Storage Solutions was awarded the first LNG storage tank by AG&P earlier this year.

September 2021

The additional scope includes a 1200 m3 shop-fabricated double wall LNG bullet and a second 60 000 m3 full containment steel LNG tank along with geotechnical investigation, soil improvement, foundation and topside platform structure, pre-commissioning, purging, and commissioning activities. Mechanical completion is expected in 1Q22 for the LNG bullet and 2Q24 for the second tank, with purging and commissioning activities to follow.

Ben Smith (Singapore) and Penny Cygan-Jones (UK), Norton Rose Fulbright, explain why the Asian LNG market will be increasingly important to the global LNG industry in the future.

emand for natural gas in the Asian region is expected to be robust for the foreseeable future. In China, for example, S&P are predicting that gas demand will grow to 430 billion m3 in 2025 and China is expected to add 17 million t of LNG receiving capacity in 2021. An important element of that expansion in demand is the transfer of LNG terminals to PipeChina from the major Chinese energy companies. PipeChina’s mandate is to open up third party access to its terminals and pipelines, and it is expected that a broader range of Chinese buyers will be seen in the international LNG market, as well as higher utilisation rates of LNG and gas infrastructure.b The underlying increase in gas demand reflects that China has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with strong economic growth. China is generally expected to overtake Japan this year as the largest market for LNG cargoes. Japan’s gas demand reflects that the Japanese economy is seeing little growth, but with the

reduction in the use of coal in the fuel mix (as discussed next), most expectations are that Japan will continue to be an important market for LNG. India has relied more on the purchase of spot cargoes than almost any other importer, and 2021 has seen both the vulnerabilities and the advantages of that strategy. In January, Indian spot buyers were fully exposed to high spot prices for February deliveries, which reached US$32.494/million Btu. These prices, although short-lived, represented multiples of the prices available for term cargoes. However, in more recent months as the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus has devastated the Indian economy, this strategy has worked to their advantage – cargoes have simply not been purchased even at the end of a tender process. It will be interesting to see what the lessons from this experience will be for the Indian buyers. Will they feel vindicated by the flexibility that their spot cargo procurement strategy gave them in the depths of the pandemic, or will they commit to more term contracts as Indian demand for gas grows?

Growth of interest in green LNG and greenhouse gas emissions regulation The Asian region has, like the rest of the world, been taking an increasing interest in efforts to reduce climate change, and to cut emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). At a governmental level, most of the key markets for LNG in this region have committed to swingeing cuts to GHG emissions in accordance with the principles of the Paris Agreement: Japan has committed to be carbon neutral by 2050 (with reductions of 26% of carbon emissions on 2013 levels by 2030), and Korea has similarly pledged neutrality by 2050 (and has also pledged reductions of 24.4% of carbon emissions on 2017 levels by 2030). China has promised to reduce its carbon intensity by 65% on 2005 levels by 2030, with neutrality by 2060, and Taiwan has committed to at least a 50% cut from 2005 levels by 2050. Across the globe, 75% of the current LNG demand is in countries that have now pledged to achieve carbon neutrality. As renewables projects are developed in many of these markets, and for some there will be significant challenges to rolling out large scale renewables, it is likely that gas will continue to play a very important part of the energy mix. The first and most obvious step that Asian countries are taking is to reduce their dependence on coal-fired power generation. Coal has been a mainstay of power generation in this region – Korea for instance produces 40% of its power from coal-fired generation. Most economic plans see the share of fossil fuels in the energy mix being reduced (from 77% to 56% by 2030 in the case of Japan), but within that mix, the share of gas remains relatively steady. In the Japanese plan, the LNG share of 38% of the fuel mix in 2018 - 2019 falls to 27% by 2030 - 2031, but whilst this represents a fall in percentage terms, the Institute of Energy Economics Japan has estimated that this could lead to an increase in LNG demand of up to 22bmillion tpy by 2030 as energy demand increases overall. The current lack of renewable alternatives may partially explain why this region has seen arguably more effort to

September 2021

‘green’ the supplies of LNG being delivered to it than other regions. It has been argued that when considering all the emissions along its supply chain, US LNG is only “marginally better” than the use of coal, so it is the identification and mitigation of those emissions that are now becoming a big focus for decarbonisation efforts. The first procurement exercise for LNG has recently been seen, where the GHG emissions associated with the delivery were identified as a factor the buyer would consider when choosing a supplier. It is reasonable to expect that this will become more common, and LNG producers are now taking steps to be able to compete for buyers based on their carbon credentials. In the last 12 months, most of the Japanese buyers have been buying spot cargoes of green LNG from suppliers such as Shell, Total, and BP. In Singapore, Pavilion Energy has attracted headlines for announcing a tender process for green LNG in early 2020, and that process has since resulted in the announcement of three long-term supply contracts, with Qatar Gas Trading, Chevron, and BP. ‘Green LNG’ is a label affixed to any LNG cargo that does anything to address the GHG emissions associated with its delivery, but when one looks at the detail of these sales and other initiatives being taken in the industry, it is clear a variety of approaches are being taken. Not all green cargoes are equal, and those sellers of cargoes with the lowest carbon footprint are rightly calling for standardised industry measurements to enable cargoes to be compared and perhaps priced accordingly. The spot cargoes being delivered are perhaps better described as being ‘approximately’ carbon neutral, in the sense that the emissions associated with them have been offset by the retirement of carbon credits. Exactly what emissions are included is again an area of some variety; with some parties offsetting the GHG emissions associated with only the production, liquefaction, and transport of the LNG to the discharge terminal and others also looking at the emissions associated with the combustion of the gas (i.e. scope three emissions as defined under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol).b Another variable is how the emissions are calculated; there have been a number of databases produced that purport to set out the emissions associated with each LNG production facility in the world. By taking the emissions set out in the database and offsetting that emission, the parties involved in the sale and purchase of that cargo can claim to have produced green LNG. This approach has the merit of making it relatively easy to offset emissions against a publicly available quantification of emissions. The alternative approach (‘carbon transparent’), perhaps better suited to term contracts, is to develop a methodology to determine the actual emissions associated with the delivery of each cargo, and to incentivise the seller to reduce the emissions. By drilling into actual production data rather than relying on third party databases which may be based on relatively generic information, the investment in carbon reduction measures can be incentivised. Whether there is, in addition, an offset may be up to the party that ultimately burns the gas, but the data will be there for that buyer to purchase and retire an appropriate number of carbon credits.b

It is interesting to speculate on how the markets for green or carbon transparent LNG will develop, but the consequences are potentially wide ranging: z Does the variety of methodologies for quantifying emissions, and the variety of standards associated with carbon credits, lead to a fracturing of trading markets for green LNG and reduce market liquidity? z What are the possible liabilities that a producer exposes itself to by warranting the emissions associated with the production of gas? z What liabilities may arise for LNG traders relying on warranties given by those further up the production chain? z If emissions have not been properly recorded and offset, what is the appropriate measure of the resulting loss? Is it the difference in value between ‘green’ LNG and ‘regular’ LNG, or the cost of offsets, or, particularly in the current regulatory climate, is there no loss at all because offsets are not mandated?

Philippines The news from the Philippines is more positive: local power company First Gen has partnered with Tokyo Gas to develop a floating LNG terminal in Batangas, which is currently under construction.b

Thailand Thailand has seen significant regulatory change, with PTT no longer having the exclusive right to import LNG to Thailand. EGAT and Gulf Energy are now looking to enter into their own international LNG procurement agreements. This is likely to see more LNG brought in through the Map Ta Phut terminal and the development of other smaller terminals in Thailand.

Myanmar

Of course, all of these points will be up for negotiation and new contractual models may appear in the absence of regulatory requirements which provide a risk allocation framework for parties to follow.

After a number of LNG import projects for Myanmar were proposed and abandoned, a joint venture of VPower of Hong Kong and China National Technical Import & Export Corp. successfully commissioned a floating terminal near Yangon in 2020. With the current political turmoil in Myanmar it is not clear whether the terminal is continuing to operate but AIS data indicates that the vessel is still on station in Myanmar.

Development of new markets in Asia

Vietnam

Domestic gas supplies in most of the countries of South East Asia are declining whilst the expectation is that demand will increase strongly. This is certainly the case in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. LNG is seen as a low-cost replacement for domestic gas. LNG import facilities are being developed or significantly expanded in all of these countries.

In Vietnam, there could be as many as 17 different LNG terminal proposals, but it is highly unlikely that all will be built in the foreseeable future. There have been a number of Memoranda of Understanding signed forming joint ventures to develop import projects. There is at least one proposed terminal that is intended as part of the development of a greenfield liquefaction project in the US.b Vietnam is making big strides to address some of the structural issues that have prevented LNG terminals being built there in the past, such as controls on the price of gas and power. The geography of Vietnam lends itself well to distribution of LNG as a liquid fuel, and Norton Rose Fulbright will be interested to see if that is part of any of the proposals that reach FID.

z What will the impact of these offsets be on the market for carbon credits?

Bangladesh There are predictions that Bangladesh will move from importing 4.1 million t of LNG in 2020 to 21.2 million tpy by 2030 and 30.8 million tpy by 2040. In the last year, however, Bangladeshi demand for LNG has declined. This is likely to be a reflection of the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, but there is an expectation that demand will increase strongly as more power plants are converted from gasoil to natural gas, and there are reports that a new natural gas transmission pipeline has been completed to facilitate the transport of gas from receiving terminals to demand centres. There has been talk of a new land-based terminal to support the expected increases in demand, but at the time of writing the status of this project is unclear.

Pakistan Similarly, Pakistan is predicted to import 25 million tpy of LNG by 2040 and there has been much discussion of multiple floating and land-based receiving terminal projects, particularly in and around Port Qasim. These would supplement the existing Elengy and Gasport terminals but Final Investment Decisions (FID) in respect of the new terminals have not yet been announced. It is reported that there are issues associated with pipeline capacity and

objections from the Pakistani navy to the proposed locations of the new terminals.

September 2021

Conclusion Asian markets are a very important part of the future of the LNG industry. The established markets are evolving and maturing, and gas will face pressure everywhere from renewables. However, in Asia, renewable power projects are still in their infancy and not as easily implemented as they are in other parts of the world, meaning that for some of the key Asian economies the best option for reducing carbon emissions will be to first reduce and mitigate the emissions from the cleanest fossil fuel available, before transitioning further towards renewables and green gases. The LNG industry is being seen to take the first steps in Asia to establish commercial models to offset and drive down emissions. These will be important as new markets for LNG open up as indigenous sources of natural gas are depleted.

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September 2021

he energy industry is on the verge of profound changes. A growing awareness exists regarding the necessity to move towards greener solutions. This means the widespread adoption of renewables in the long run, as well as all possible measures to reduce the carbon footprint from already established energy sources: replacing coal with gas and by integrating carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects within the already established energy market. The same applies to the maritime sector. Whether it is gas bulkers, gas carriers, tankers, container ships, or smaller cruise vessels and ferries, the sector is under pressure to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On an international basis, the regulatory framework relies mainly on the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), one of the three key conventions from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) together with SOLAS and STCW. MARPOL’s Annex VI relating to the ‘Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships’, which came into force in 2005, regulating primarily SOx, NOx, and particulate matter emissions reduction, was amended by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 62/24) in 2011. A dedicated chapter has been added, regulating energy efficiency for ships and consequently ruling on GHG emissions reductions on ships of 400 t and above. Through this new chapter, two main mechanisms were introduced. Firstly, the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) setting goals on ships’ carbon intensity reductions through reduction factors. Secondly, the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) was set up to create requirements and traceability of continued performance optimisation. MEPC 72, held in 2019, adopted the initial IMO GHG strategy envisaging a reduction in carbon intensity by transport of at least 40% by 2030 and 70% by 2050. Total annual GHG emissions from international shipping must also

be reduced by 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels (Figureb1). Within the outcomes of the last MEPCb76 held in June 2021, the requirements and certifications for existing vessels, the efficiency indexes for existing vessels (EEXI), and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) are set to come into force from January 2023. Wind assisted propulsion (WASP), hull air lubrication, electrification, and operational profile optimisation through digitalisation can be put into service, but the most important change for the coming years seems to be fuel diversification by replacing conventional oil-based fuels with liquefied gases. LNG, ammonia, and hydrogen are such candidates to fulfil this role, with LNG being the most promising in the short-term. In this context of rapid changes and uncertainties about the best fuel alternatives, the versatility of vessels towards different liquefied gases is essential in supporting owners to comply with regulations. Many players have taken the lead. From gas handling equipment to engine makers, the industry is striving to develop multi-gas solutions with minimum modifications or no retrofit. Gas storage tanks are an important part of a vessel, as they are generally difficult to retrofit and represent a significant part of vessel cost. Different tank solutions are available from atmospheric Type A, B, and membrane technologies, to pressurised Type C tanks. For many decades, membrane tanks have been the preferred technology applied on LNG carriers. For LNG fuelled vessels, membrane containment systems are being increasingly applied, especially to large containerships, cruise ships, and bunker vessels. Membrane tanks on liquefied gas fuelled vessels offer optimised space utilisation, lower weight, cost, and boil-off rate (BOR) when compared to self-supporting tank technologies. With the aim of assuring shipowners that there will still be fuel versatility when taking advantage of

Ezequiel Orlandi and Emmanuel Rousseau, GTT, France, detail the maritime industry’s available options for contributing to a more sustainable world.

membrane systems, much development work has been undertaken to drive membrane tanks to the industry as being the most multi-gas compatible technology on the market.

Fostering ammonia-ready vessels Ammonia was recently the subject of a compatibility study by GTT. Material compatibility is one of the challenges when considering ammonia storage. One of the advantages of the Mark III system is its stainless steel (304 L) primary barrier that is fully compatible with ammonia according to the IGC code. This is much more complicated for self-supporting tanks such as Type A, B, or C, as the most commonly used material to date – 9% nickel steel – is not fully compatible. For such tanks, compatibility is thus only achieved by using much more expensive materials such as stainless steel or aluminium. Through the work GTT has undertaken, the company has obtained Bureau Veritas’ (BV) Approval in Principle (AiP) for the ‘NH3 Ready’ notation applied to the Mark III technology. The notation makes Mark III membrane the only ‘real’ NH3 ready technology for any type of LNG fuelled vessel, providing shipowners with required flexibility towards ammonia fuel gas solutions. The AiP recognises that Mark III

Figure 1. Overall greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction pathway assumed by IMO GHG strategy to cut CO2 emissions. Gap from business-as-usual to be filled with innovative technologies and other targets to be met by optimising design and operational indexes. Source: International Maritime Organization.

Figure 2. Le Commandant Charcot, the very first polar cruise vessel using LNG as fuel, fitted with two membrane fuel tanks (total capacity of 4500 m3) designed to 2 bar gauge. Image courtesy of Ponant.

September 2021

membrane technology is suitable to contain ammonia without significant retrofit, offering shipowners the possibility to operate their ships on LNG and to convert them later to ammonia with limited additional cost related to major tank workover. In addition to the assessed membrane material suitability, the compatibility study also evaluated increased sloshing loads expected when using ammonia. The increased liquefied ammonia density (680 kg/m3) was carefully analysed by GTT’s extensive background and proven research excellence on liquid motion studies. Finally, great care has been paid to evaluate leakage management philosophy, due to the toxic nature of ammonia. Indeed, a membrane system offers a high safety level as a result of its double liquid-tight barriers, the insulation space pressurisation philosophy, and the constant gas monitoring.

Increasing design pressure and flexibly Membrane cargo tanks have a maximum design pressure of 0.7 bar gauge in accordance with the IGF1 code. Although this standard is compatible with the LNG supply chain, a higher design pressure is desirable for increased operational flexibility. Indeed, higher design pressure increases gas holding time with a consequent greater resilience on managing boil-off as well as providing better optimisation towards different operations (idling, bunkering, loading, cooling-down, etc). Higher design pressure allows easier handling of LNG with increased saturation pressure (warmer LNG). The IGF code (section 2.3) gives the possibility of deviating from already prescribed requirements as long as the alternative solution meets the same functional requirements and a safety level not lower than the one already prescribed by code. Alternative designs are also supported by SOLAS II-1/55 (MSC.1/Circ. 1455 and MSC.1/Circ. 1212). As a result, through a very unique project, the Commandant Charcot from Ponant, the first polar cruise explorer fuelled by LNG, GTT has worked on a 1 bar gauge tank design pressure solution with tanks fitted with a specially reinforced combined liquid/gas dome. Through this development work, in February 2021 GTT received an AiP from BV for a tank design pressure of 1 bar gauge for MarkbIII for LNG as fuel applications. The vessel was also granted approval for tank maximum working pressure of 2bbar gauge for bunkering and under emergency situations. Increased pressure while bunkering assures greater compatibility with bunker vessels fitted with Type C tanks, reducing unnecessary flaring. It also allows decreased bunkering duration without the need of oversizing fuel gas handling equipment to manage boil-off gas (BOG) while bunkering. Higher operating pressure during emergency situations also contributes to meeting IGF’s holding time requirement of a minimum of 15bdays with cargo tanks fully loaded at ship idle conditions with only BOG consumption on hotel load. Increased pressures for such unique passenger vessels also provide greater margin for operators and increases safety during emergency shutdown (ESD) and safe return to port (SRtP) situations. Mark III membrane tanks have recently completed another major milestone by receiving an AiP from DNV. The AiP is based on assessments of safety equivalence not only for the containment system, but also the fuel gas handling

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Figure 3. CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE, the first 23 000 TEU containership fuelled by LNG fitted with one 18 600 m3 Mark III membrane fuel tank. Image courtesy of CMA CGM.

to the cargo tanks (mandatory) but also for pumps, the fuel gas supply system, and the main engine. Taking advantage of this experience and the offer from equipment makers, 150b000bm3 ethane carriers are now on the drawing board for ethane carriers which are also compatible with LNG. An ethane carrier, which can be adapted beforehand to handle LNG, presents itself as a significant advantage within a growing and diversifying small to mid scale LNG market, giving shipowners the opportunity to make the most of the freight market as it evolves. Operations not only as a midsize LNG carrier, but also as a floating storage unit (FSU) or even floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) can be envisaged. The exact implications of the notation and its real value will be proved in the coming years, through the second and third generations of VLECs and possibly the very first 150b000bm3 ultra large ethane carrier (ULEC). In the meantime, GTT continues to anticipate and to provide support for the shipping market segments willing to acquire this innovative notation, bringing value and flexibility to all players.

A collective effort: a communication challenge

Figure 4. SERI EVEREST the world’s largest VLEC (98 156 m3) to be granted ABS notation ‘LNG Cargo Ready’ contributing to ethane market development and opening perspectives for ultra large ethane carrier designs. Image courtesy of MISC. equipment and the hull structure subject to increased loads. This technical analysis was then further evaluated against its implications under normal and downgraded operating conditions. Through this work, GTT is able to offer such flexible solutions to many types of LNG-fuelled vessels, from cruise vessels to car carriers and container feeders.

Versatility supporting gas market development Besides being the fuel of choice on maritime vessels, the evolution of some gas markets with the potential of decreasing the carbon footprint also relies to a large extent on gas bulkers’ versatility. This is the case for the ethylene production chain, which is nowadays mainly based on naphtha. The emergent and increasing use of ethane, since the US shale revolution, offers the possibility of greener ethane to ethylene only crackers. However, as a niche market, some issues shall be addressed to assure shipowners of cargo flexibility. For instance, by the creation of the ‘LNG Cargo Ready’2 notation in a joint project with ABS, GTT provides a way for the capacity increase on ethane carriers to be achieved. The notation is already applied to the last generation of very large ethane-LPG carrier identified as one of the greatest ships of 2020. The notation was applied

September 2021

To tackle the challenge of decarbonisation and meet an ever more stringent pollution restriction in a very short time, the maritime industry requires innovation more than ever. As vessels are composed of intrinsically related systems, innovations from all system providers need to be well harmonised. As the tanks are a key piece of equipment in any liquefied gas carrier or fuelled vessel, GTT has kept its innovative spirit extending and diversifying applications of its membrane containment systems in the hope of accelerating and triggering innovations from other industry actors. Besides the innovations related to versatility towards greener fuels and optimised operating conditions through increased tank design pressures, GTT has also taken advantage of its extensive know-how on oceangoing vessel operating profiles. Its knowledge in liquid motion studies also enables the development of digital platforms which are aligned with the initial IMO GHG strategy. This is the case of LNG Optim™ which has been designed to help shipowners to reduce emissions and improve operational economics. GTT is able to assure best efficiency in relation to boil-off management thanks to complex algorithms also taking environmental conditions and sea states into account. Another example of a digital platform, the Sloshing Virtual Sensor, combines IoT, powerful onboard data acquisition, and AI. This digital solution enables the prediction of sloshing frequency and pressures and can have a positive impact on predicting maintenance (decreasing downtime). It substantially increases operability limits (mainly for FLNGs and FSRUs) and helps liquefied gas fuelled vessels to manage partial fillings together with keeping safe levels for fuel gas pumps operations. Through technical and digital innovations, GTT focuses on developing technology for a sustainable world.

References 1.

International Code of Safety for Ships Using Gases or Other Low-flashpoint Fuels.

American Bureau of Shipping, ‘LNG Cargo Ready Vessels’, September 2019.

hilst safety has dominated the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) agenda since it was established in 1948 (coincidentally the same year that the Liberian Registry was established), in recent years the environment and in particular air emissions have taken the top spot and will probably stay the main item on IMO’s agenda until international shipping has met the decarbonisation goals set forth by the IMO. Decarbonisation is the regulatory issue that is most affecting shipping now, and it will shape the course of the industry for generations to come. How the industry looks at the implementation of new technologies, new fuel sources, and changing operational methods to meet the IMO’s goals on emissions will be a matter of great concern for some shipowners, seafarers, class societies, and flag states. However, some key stakeholders will also see this as a huge opportunity to transform the maritime industry along the lines of environmental sustainability, paving the way for an even brighter future through zero emission vessels for international shipping. The Liberian Registry has taken a leading role from the flag state perspective to work in close collaboration with high quality shipowners/operators, engine manufacturers, shipyards, and designers, as well as classification societies and other key stakeholders to take this opportunity to transform the maritime industry toward a zeroemission sustainable future.

Greenhouse gas reduction measures After the recent IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting (MEPC 76), it is now known that IMO adopted amendments to MARPOL Annex VI that will require ships to further reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These amendments combine technical and operational approaches to improve the energy efficiency of ships, and they also provide important building blocks for future GHG reduction measures. The technical measures that were adopted require all ships to calculate their Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and is applicable from the first annual, intermediate, or renewal IAPP survey after 1 January 2023. In addition, ships 5000 t and above will be required to establish their annual operational carbon intensity indicator

Figure 1. The first ever ship-to-ship LNG fuelling of a large capacity Aframax tanker in the US, outside the Port of Canaveral, Florida, 15 March 2021.

(CII) and CII rating. Carbon intensity links the GHG emissions to the amount of cargo carried over distance travelled. Starting in 2024, ships will get a CII rating of their energy efficiency using rating categories A, B, C, D, or E, where A is best. Ships rated D or E for three consecutive years will be required to submit a corrective action plan, to show how the required index (C or above) would be achieved.

Navigating change Now that the new requirements are known, shipowners have very important decisions to make with regards to the technologies to be retrofitted or installed aboard their ships and the design of future ships to be ordered. As a regulator, the Liberian Registry has always, and will continue to, actively support the shipowners flying the Liberian flag. This support includes guidance in making informed decisions, ensuring safe operations, compliance with current or forthcoming rules and regulations, and thus achieving the goals set forth by the industry. Liberia is very active in the implementation of emerging and new technologies and the Registry’s global team provides capabilities that continue to make it a go-to flag for ship owners. This is evident not only from the continuous fleet growth of the Registry, but also by the fact that Liberia has both the most dual-fuelled, deep-draft vessels and the fastest growing gas carrier fleet in the world. These results are due, in large part, to the Registry’s global 24/7 presence and support, easy processes and procedures, and cost savings benefits, but

Figure 2. Sovcomflot dual-fuelled Aframax tankers.

Figure 3. Aframax ship specifically designed to operate on cleaner LNG fuel.

September 2021

most importantly because of the people. The Registry’s dedicated Global Gas Team supports the gas fleet throughout the full lifecycle, from design to construction and delivery, during operation. This team can assist in the review of future vessel designs, offer insights and recommendations to mitigate risks/costs, technical and safety implications, and demonstrate compliance with applicable rules and regulations. Another contributing factor to the growth success of the Liberian flag is the early involvement in prospective new ship designs featuring the latest technology, innovative design features, as well as alternative fuels. This is achieved through participation in joint industry projects (JIP) with key stakeholders such as high-quality shipyards, designers, and classification societies. The team of highly qualified personnel adds value to these JIPs by using the provisions in the international regulatory framework allowing for a risk-based approval approach demonstrating an at least equivalent level of safety as the prescriptive rules and regulations as the way forward to approve new technologies and alternative fuels. These JIPs lead to an Approval in Principle (AiP) of a concept design that provides confidence to prospective shipowners that the detailed design with the innovative features can also be approved, constructed, and enter into operation gaining a competitive advantage. These JIPs therefore pave the way for a multifold win-win situation for the involved stakeholders. This is the key for the industry to unlock the potential to fully decarbonise international shipping.

A market shift to transitional fuels The trend in the market is that of a shift from heavy fuel oil (HFO) to alternative fuels such as LNG and others. Many shipowners and operators are moving in the direction of gas, whether it is LNG, propane, or ethane, but these are being considered transitional fuels. The reason liquefied gases are considered transitional fuels is because they still contain carbon, but they will play a large role in achieving the goals set forth by the IMO for the reduction of emissions. LNG’s carbon component makes it unsuitable for end-state emission goals, but its advantages during the transition period cannot be denied. The reasons for LNG adoption are simple: there is abundance of supply, it is cost-effective, it is effective and manageable, and it is a readily available fuel solution that achieves the current goals set forth by the IMO. For example, emissions from LNG are significantly lower when compared to traditional HFO: 100% less sulfur oxide (SOx); 100% lower particulate matter (PM); 90% less nitrogen oxide (NOx) and a 20 - 25% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2). As of the time of writing this article, the US has already had three different Liberian flagged LNG-powered vessels successfully undergo LNG bunkering. These were the first foreign-flagged vessels to be approved to conduct this operation. But LNG is not the only option to lower emissions, though it is the most shovel ready at the moment. Liquefied hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol are also possibilities. Hydrogen is an attractive fuel source due to its cleanliness. Hydrogen does not release any CO2 when burned and liquefied hydrogen can charge batteries for electrical propulsion via fuel cell technology. Hydrogen is normally stored and transported as a liquid, and this is where the difficulties are seen. Liquid hydrogen is approximately four times larger by volume than conventional diesel, which presents a challenge when

considering ship fuel capacity and endurance. As a liquid, hydrogen needs to be refrigerated to -253˚C or pressurised to 700 bar, both of which are hard to achieve and even harder to maintain in a vessel. In addition, hydrogen has a significant flammability window (4 - 75% by volume of air), and hydrogen-to-air mixtures can ignite with one-tenth of the energy input required to ignite a comparable gasoline-air mixture. Ammonia does not produce CO2 when burned and is another possibility of reaching the IMO’s decarbonisation targets. Ammonia is twice as energy-rich as liquid hydrogen by weight. It has fewer storage issues than hydrogen as it can be stored at ambient temperature under a pressure of 10 bar or refrigerated to -34˚C without pressure. However, it has less than half the energy density of HFO by weight and just a third by volume, which make its use as a vessel fuel a challenge. Another disadvantage to ammonia is that when combusted, the nitrogen present will produce NOx, itself a GHG. Extremely toxic even at relatively low levels, care is needed in containment systems and ammonia could pose problems for crew and salvors in a damaged situation. Like LNG, hydrogen, and ammonia, methanol significantly reduces emissions of SOx, NOx, and particulate matter, and with the ability to be produced from renewable sources, it offers a pathway to meeting future emissions regulations as well. That being said, when produced from natural gas, CO2 is also produced. Another challenge for methanol is its low energy content and the comparatively lower amount of energy it can store in the tanks of a ship. Methanol’s specific energy is much lower than that of LNG and conventional liquid fuels.

For the same energy content, methanol requires approximately 2.5btimes more storage volume than conventional fuels. It should be noted that whilst this article focuses on LNG, hydrogen, ammonia and methanol, the Liberian Registry does not favour one particular fuel over another. On the contrary, the Liberian Registry is working in close collaboration with shipowners and other key stakeholders to support the industry in complying with increasingly stricter environmental requirements on the joint pathway to reach zero emission shipping as soon as possible. These measures will allow the industry to comply with the IMO’s Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Strategy and contribute to a goal of the United Nations’ Paris Agreement, to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2˚C while pursuing means to limit the increase even further to 1.5˚C.

Conclusion While the industry is trying to determine how to best meet these new requirements, the Liberian Registry is positioning itself to provide owners and operators with a capable and experienced team to assist in this process from the regulatory stand point. Liberia has been partnering with shipowners and operators on the smooth implementation and compliance with these new regulations in a practical way, across a spectrum of technologies and options. The Liberian Registry’s Global Gas Team is working diligently to ensure owners and operators have a viable solution.

Note All images courtesy of Sovcomflot.

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Innovations for Greener Shipping

The Story behind the picture.

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Justin Ellrich and Carina Winters, Black & Veatch Corporation, USA, explain the role of LNG technology in the hydrogen transition.

he pledges made by companies and countries across the globe to decarbonise have accelerated plans to adopt hydrogen as a fuel source. However, significant development time and investment remain for transportation infrastructure and production volumes to enable widespread hydrogen use with economical access for end users making the transition. While this full build-out of a hydrogen economy is a decade or more in the future, steps are being taken in the interim to introduce hydrogen into the clean fuel mix which has most recently been led by a boom in natural gas. The current infrastructure in place and the

technologies employed to process, transport, and use natural gas will play a major role in ramping up the mix of hydrogen in fuel supplies. This article focuses on two specific aspects where hydrogen and natural gas overlap: pipelines and liquefaction. Until more dedicated hydrogen pipelines are constructed and combustion equipment is converted or replaced with pure hydrogen-firing capability, hydrogen will likely be blended into natural gas up to the limitations of the existing pipelines and equipment. As hydrogen blending increases, so too will the list of LNG plants that get supplied from

blended pipelines which will need to make modifications to enable continued operation. Where pipelines are not available, compressed hydrogen can be transported in cylinders, but volume and distance limitations exist with this method to remain economical. Much like the proliferation of the global LNG trade, liquid hydrogen is poised to grow to allow producers to ship to consumers across greater distances.

Hydrogen blends feeding LNG facilities Potential incompatibility of metallurgy and compression equipment for existing natural gas pipelines will limit the concentration of hydrogen transported in existing infrastructure, expected to be between 15 - 20% maximum. Various scenarios have been proposed to be served by this blending, with the leading candidates being a lower carbon content for existing natural gas consumers or as a carrier with separation of hydrogen at the take-off point for further use. Either scenario presents a challenge to LNG facilities that are connected to one of these blended pipelines in the future, particularly peak shavers that are used to store natural gas in liquid form for later use during high demand periods. While utility companies may begin to source hydrogen along with natural gas, there will still be a need for reliable back-up supply, and the most mature path to accomplish this is the existing LNG plants already used for such a purpose. When a hydrogen-natural gas blend is used as feed gas to an LNG facility, the hydrogen will remain as a vapour at LNG temperature, so flash gas handling and overall plant

Figure 1. Two-column system for hydrogen/natural gas separation.

Figure 2. Nitrogen trim refrigeration system for hydrogen/ natural gas separation.

September 2021

capacity will be impacted. However, the refrigeration system can remain as-is while retrofits in ancillary components and new equipment can be implemented to retain functionality of LNG production while also separating a concentrated hydrogen stream. The hydrogen can be re-injected into the pipeline, used as zero-emission on-site fuel when burners are modified, or fed downstream to a new user where higher purity hydrogen is needed. There is already proof and precedent of the processing schemes necessary to handle hydrogen with LNG. Black & Veatch has patented two designs that are employed in currently operating facilities using a single mixed refrigerant system to co-produce LNG and hydrogen rich offgas from a mixed feed stream created by upstream processes. In one configuration, two fractionation columns achieve the required separation. In the second configuration, a single column with a small nitrogen refrigeration system for the condenser duty is necessary to reach the desired specifications.

Two-column system The proper selection of separation technology will depend on the hydrogen concentration in the feed stream, the required hydrogen-rich gas specification, and must consider any other components besides methane and hydrogen in the feed. Luckily, the most likely scenario will be a blend of pure hydrogen up to 15 - 20% in pipeline quality natural gas which will be the simplest design, particularly for a retrofit. And if the hydrogen is to be re-injected into the pipeline or used on-site as fuel, hydrocarbons can remain at low levels in the offgas which will reduce overall duty for the separation process. This set of circumstances is a candidate for the twocolumn fractionation system as shown in Figure 1. Exiting the cold box, the hydrogen-rich vapour is separated and let down in pressure by a turboexpander to feed the absorber column. Reflux further removes the hydrocarbon traces from the hydrogen-rich gas which can then be used in downstream or other on-site applications. The methane-rich bottoms stream from the absorber is sent to the second column for further separation. The overhead product of the second column is partially condensed in the main cold box. The liquid portion is used as reflux in both columns and the lighter vapour portion is compressed and combined with the first column overhead product. The bottoms product of the second column is the LNG product, which is subcooled in the main cold box before going to storage. The operating reference for this design processes approximately 21 mol.% hydrogen and 70 mol.% methane, with the balance of nitrogen. Methane in the hydrogen-rich gas can be reduced to 0.5 mol.% to maximise LNG production and limit downstream processing of the hydrogen stream. The pipeline blending situations will have lower nitrogen content which will significantly lower reboiler duty to meet LNG specification as well as lowering reflux as the hydrogen-methane separation K-value is very high. Other variations of this scheme are possible depending on feed gas concentrations and more relaxed outlet specifications – consolidation to a single tower, or even elimination of the towers if the turboexpander outlet or initial flash stream with a few percent of methane is acceptable as the product.

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Nitrogen trim system Another possible configuration for hydrogen-methane separation is a single column configuration with a nitrogen refrigeration cycle for the condenser duty. The scheme in Figure 2 is tailored for higher hydrogen content (up to 60%) and can also handle significant carbon monoxide if the feed stream is sourced from an upstream syngas process. To meet tight hydrocarbon-in-offgas specifications for feed streams with high concentrations of lighter than methane components, a colder equilibrium temperature below approximately -180˚C must be achieved. This is below typical LNG temperature so additional refrigeration is required to supplement the standard LNG-only refrigeration design. Just like the two-column system, the two-phase stream exiting the main exchanger will be separated and the vapour drives a turboexpander to feed the fractionator. The fractionator can meet less than 0.5 mol.% methane in the overhead as well as less than 0.5 mol.% CO in the LNG product. The supplemental nitrogen refrigeration utilises a compressor so the nitrogen condenses at LNG temperature exiting the main exchanger, then reduces pressure as required to meet the colder reflux requirement. More heat integration can be accomplished by adding an additional exchanger which simultaneously warms the hydrogen product, subcools the LNG product, and subcools the nitrogen refrigerant. While this system may not be as common of a need for pipeline blending, other hydrogen production scenarios with gasification or reforming could potentially use this configuration for LNG co-production or to supplement membrane or PSA separation units depending on specifications and dispositions of the various offgases.

Pre-cooling for hydrogen liquefaction Hydrogen and natural gas liquefaction have similarities, though the additional 100˚C of cooling needed for liquid hydrogen limits the machinery and refrigerant cycles that can be employed. But getting hydrogen down to typical LNG temperatures before further refrigeration can be achieved by the same technology used now for natural gas, and approximately 15% of the total duty of hydrogen liquefaction comes from this pre-cooling step. One of the major barriers to widespread adoption of liquid hydrogen supply chains is the cost of liquefaction. Past and ongoing research has identified a number of

Figure 3. Integration of natural gas liquefaction for hydrogen pre-cooling.

September 2021

improvements to hydrogen liquefaction cycles because the efficiency of common systems in operation today is not considered adequate for scale-up in terms of meeting economical cost targets. In terms of the pre-cooling portion, liquid nitrogen is employed on a small scale but is clearly not viable due to cost and logistics for large scale operations. The focus of many researchers has been the use of closed-loop refrigeration cycles to increase efficiency and lower production cost for this step. But these cycles need no new development, they are simply what is used for LNG and can be directly implemented at any scale with known performance and little risk. Moreover, while the focus is on scaling up of the hydrogen liquefaction process, the closed-loop pre-cooler is akin to small scale LNG. Even at 100 tpd of hydrogen liquefaction, which would be world scale, the equivalent size of the pre-cooling cycle would be of that seen for 0.1b-b0.2bmillionbtpy of LNG production. Black & Veatch’s PRICO single mixed refrigerant offers vast experience in this size range with standardised components. The increase of efficiency over closed-loop nitrogen cycles, along with reduction in complexity compared to multi-loop processes, results in an optimal balance of capital and operating cost reduction to aid in reducing overall liquid hydrogen production cost. Because the pre-cooling cycle can be basically the same process used for natural gas liquefaction, there is opportunity for integration in projects that may be developing co-located natural gas and hydrogen infrastructure, even for a retrofit. Figure 3 shows a schematic for integration of hydrogen pre-cooling and natural gas liquefaction, which is as simple as the addition of dedicated passes in the main exchanger for the product and refrigerant pre-cooling streams but otherwise maintains the same operating principles for LNG.

Summary The hydrogen transition is a major pathway necessary for decarbonisation, but natural gas infrastructure will remain a critical piece of the low-carbon energy mix until the considerable investment and project development timeline for zero-GHG fuels can supply the needs of the world. But hydrogen and natural gas should not be mutually exclusive, and significant integration of these fuels can provide a short-term benefit while working towards the long-term goal. The sharing of natural gas pipelines is possible which brings challenges to LNG facilities potentially subjected to new blended feed gas, but proven designs already exist that can be applied as greenfield solutions or as retrofits to maximise use of existing assets to simultaneously handle hydrogen and methane. It is also easy to draw corollaries between LNG and hydrogen liquefaction, and the overlapping segment of pre-cooling can directly apply LNG refrigeration technology to reduce production costs. Even as demands for both the type and state of fuels changes over time and new schemes are developed to enable wider hydrogen usage, the underlying process technologies currently used in the LNG market can be leveraged and applied in multiple ways to hydrogen to accelerate companies toward their net-zero goals while remaining reliable and cost-effective for their customers.

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ore than 100 countries have pledged to reach net-zero emissions in the next 30 years, but as these countries work to define the scope and priorities, the energy industry faces one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. How to address global emissions and climate change while meeting the rising demand for energy and furthering economic growth and prosperity? Efforts like deploying all available clean energy technologies – such as renewables, hydrogen, and ammonia – are ongoing. However, natural gas is projected to become one of the largest global energy sources by 2040. As these other technologies mature and are deployed at scale, natural gas will continue to be an important complement to renewable generation and is expected to displace higher carbon-emitting fuels such as coal and oil in a variety of markets well into the future. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), since 2005, shifts in electricity generation from coal to natural gas and renewable energy have reduced cumulative US CO2 emissions by 5475bmillion t, with more than 60% of that reduction occurring due to a shift to natural gas. US LNG is already contributing to lowering global emissions by displacing more carbon-intensive fuel sources, especially in developing markets hungry for reliable energy. Decarbonising the LNG value chain will be key to enhancing the climate benefits of an expanded use of natural gas. Sempra LNG’s infrastructure platform is well-positioned to lead in the energy transition.

Role in the global energy transition Sempra LNG is one of the US’s leading LNG companies. Sempra LNG owns a 50.2% interest in Cameron LNG, a 12bmillion tpy export facility operating in Hackberry, Louisiana (Phase 1) and is working with Cameron LNG on a proposed expansion of the facility (Phase 2) through one additional liquefaction train with an offtake capacity of over 6bmillionbtpy. Sempra LNG and its partners, IEnova and TotalEnergies, are also building the 3 million tpy ECA LNG project (Phase 1) in Baja California, Mexico. ECA LNG Phaseb1 is the only project in the world to achieve a Final Investment Decision (FID) in 2020. ECA Phase 1 has started construction, and the first production of LNG is expected by the end of 2024. Sempra LNG is firmly committed to the proposition that the US’s new role as a global leader in LNG exports can enable the same greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions that the US has demonstrated in the electricity sector worldwide. Beyond the electricity sector, Sempra LNG believes that US LNG exports are critical to quickly lowering emissions in hard-to-decarbonise sectors that are today fuelled by higher emitting coal and oil energy sources. Climate change is a global problem. The EIA projects that 80% of global energy demand

Paty Ortega Mitchell, Sempra LNG, USA, considers the route to decarbonisation and how the company’s infrastructure is wellpositioned to lead in the energy transition. Figure 1. Sempra LNG owns a 50.2% interest in Cameron LNG, a 12 million tpy export facility operating in Hackberry, Louisiana, US (Phase 1) and is working with Cameron LNG on a proposed expansion of the facility (Phase 2) through one additional liquefaction train with an offtake capacity of over 6 million tpy.

through 2050 will occur in emerging and developing economies and effective climate policy must recognise that US exports of lower-carbon energy will be critical to helping these markets achieve sustainable growth. Efforts to further decarbonise the US natural gas value chain will be critical to achieving even greater GHG reductions domestically and globally, and Sempra LNG is leading the way. In July, the company announced the first carbon offset LNG cargo delivery to its Energia Costa Azul facility. While the company expects natural gas to continue to play a crucial role in the energy transition, it is also examining the potential to leverage existing facilities in combination with investments in new infrastructure opportunities in nextgeneration energy technologies including carbon capture and sequestration and low-carbon hydrogen. In December 2020, Sempra announced an integrated series of transactions to form Sempra Infrastructure, a new business focused on developing, building, and operating North American energy infrastructure. Sempra Infrastructure will be formed through the business combination of Sempra LNG and IEnova, with a view toward creating a larger platform to capture new opportunities that support the clean energy transition. During the recent Sempra Energy Investor Day, Justin Bird, CEO of Sempra LNG, announced the company’s initiative to expand its LNG business focus to include net-zero solutions to support its customers and help position the US as a global energy leader. “Our infrastructure provides services and solutions to our customers to help reduce GHG emissions and

Figure 2. Sempra LNG and its partners are adding liquefaction capabilities to the Energia Costa Azul regasification terminal in Mexico. ECA LNG is the only project in the world to achieve a Final Investment Decision in 2020.

Figure 3. Last July, the newly built BW Helios made its inaugural voyage and arrived at Energía Costa Azul with the first carbon offset LNG cargo to Mexico.

September 2021

facilitate the energy transition,” said Bird. “We use innovation and technology to improve all aspects of our business, and we are excited to expand our investments to emissions reduction technology, carbon capture and sequestration, hydrogen, and battery storage.

Decarbonising the energy value chain LNG terminals operating and under construction in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas have enabled the US to become a global leader in exporting natural gas to foreign markets. Increasingly, customers of these facilities are seeking natural gas sourced through lower-carbon processes to meet their energy needs and are looking to US suppliers to accomplish their goals. Sempra LNG is actively advancing the utilisation of new technology that can significantly reduce the GHG emissions associated with the liquefaction process, as part of a broader suite of lower-carbon initiatives. The International Energy Agency highlighted a potential need for carbon dioxide storage to increase from approximately 40bmillion tpy today to more than 5000bmillionbtpy by midcentury. Today, the US is the global leader in carbon capture, use, and sequestration (CCUS), holding more than 60% of current CCUS capacity and half of all global CCUS capacity under development. Sempra LNG is in the early stages of development of the Hackberry Carbon Sequestration project in southwest Louisiana. Projected to have the capacity to store a total of 89bmillion t of CO2, this facility could have the potential to serve as a permanent geologic repository for CO2 not just from LNG facilities in the area, but other industrial facilities along the US Gulf Coast. Sempra LNG has been actively evaluating the incorporation of e-Drives for the refrigeration compressors for Phase 2 of Cameron LNG as well as other future LNG projects such as the Port Arthur LNG project in Texas. When paired with zero carbon electricity from the power grid, this technology will not only increase LNG production, but will also have the potential to reduce the liquefaction facility’s GHG emissions by 60 - 65%. Together with carbon capture and sequestration, overall emissions in the liquefaction facilities can be reduced by as much as 80 - 90%. Beyond the LNG terminals, Sempra LNG is committed to working across the value chain to reduce emissions. As a member of the Collaboratory to Advance Methane Science, the company is funding research to improve the quantification and measurement of methane emissions with the goal of identifying best practices to drive these emissions to zero. Sempra LNG is also actively engaged with industry partners to develop advanced frameworks for the reporting, mitigation, and reduction of GHG emissions, including a recent memorandum of understanding with the Polish Oil & Gas Company to advance the best practices in this area and the aforementioned agreement with bp to deliver a carbon offset LNG cargo to the Energía Costa Azul facility. “Through the combined strengths of our assets in North America, we are dedicated to investing in infrastructure to build the energy systems of the future,” Bird noted in his Investor Day comments. “We’ve demonstrated the capability to build large scale infrastructure and expect to have meaningful opportunities to grow and invest in infrastructure that will helps us meet Sempra’s net-zero emissions goal.”

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Tim Fourteau (Singapore), Alex Woody (Japan), and Yun Yong (Singapore), White & Case, discuss several trends in LNG SPAs and the broader LNG market.

he global LNG market is in a period of structural change. Demand is expected to surge across growth markets, particularly from Asia, and existing overcapacity on the supply side, particularly in North America, has seen LNG developers jostling to capitalise by offering shorter, more flexible and innovative, contractual structures. Against this backdrop, this article reflects on three trends in LNG Sales and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) and the broader LNG market.

Trend 1: The continued rise of JKM Recently announced LNG SPAs have priced cargoes by reference to both Platts Japan Korea Marker (JKM) and Dutch TTF, reflecting the growing use of the JKM price benchmark for LNG imports into Asia. Historically, long-term LNG SPAs have been priced by reference to substitute energy sources in the market of import. In the Asian market, LNG imports were typically indexed against crude oil prices, factoring in the average weighted energy content of LNG relative to oil. In contrast to the Asian market, LNG imports into the US and Europe have been benchmarked against LNG’s most direct competing energy source in those markets – pipeline gas. Given the well-established gas market in the US, the price for LNG imports into the US was linked to the gas trading price at the Henry Hub, an access and connection point in the southern US for gas transmission pipelines (imports of LNG into the US were becoming necessary before shale discoveries in the US made the country an LNG exporter). Following the US shale boom, several import projects were converted and expanded to be export projects. These export projects tended to use a tolling or quasi-tolling model whereby LNG was essentially sold FOB at a price equal to a Henry Hub linked feedgas cost plus a fixed component to cover liquefaction cost plus margin. In the initial wave of US liquefaction projects, a Henry Hub linked pricing model was attractive to Asian LNG buyers

because oil prices were, at the time the offtake contracts were made, at historic highs – according to EIA data, from 2011 to 2014, average annual oil prices were well over US$90/bbl. However, as oil prices receded, the shine wore off. Furthermore, given that Henry Hub is not representative of gas pricing in Asia, Henry Hub benchmarking created issues for Asian LNG buyers and spurred the search for a more accurate benchmark for LNG imports into Asia. An Asian benchmark price for LNG that has grown in popularity is the JKM benchmark. In early June of this year, the Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) announced record activity in the use the JKM benchmark. It reported that the average daily volume in JKM LNG futures and options increased 14% y/y, and the number of participants trading JKM LNG futures increased 25% since May 2020. Since 2015, traded volumes of JKM swaps derivatives have increased around threefold each year.

Trend 2: The growing role of portfolio players and traders Recently announced LNG SPAs also reflect the growing involvement of traders and portfolio players in the LNG market. LNG trade flows originally followed the producerto-consumer delivery model whereby gas and power utility companies, often from Japan and South Korea, would enter into long-term SPAs with the only, or primary, destination expected to be their home countries. The LNG delivery model has been steadily shifting away from this point-to-point delivery model, as seen from destination free FOB contracts, equity lifting models, and the growing involvement of portfolio suppliers. The trend has been spurred by both commercial considerations and governmental action, such as opinions from the European Commission and Japan Fair Trade Commission regarding destination restrictions. Arbitrage opportunities in the LNG market have attracted trading companies that seek to capitalise on growing LNG demand and market liquidity. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, between 2016 to 2018, the largest three trading companies active in LNG more than doubled their LNG trading volumes and accounted for close to 9% of the global market. Between 2015 and 2020, physical LNG volumes traded on a short-term basis have almost doubled to 130 - 150 million tpy. The growing involvement of traders is a positive development for the LNG market. Traders increase market liquidity by warehousing risk with longer contracts that they subsequently disaggregate and on-sell into the market on the basis of shorter or smaller deals.

Trend 3: Is a 10-year deal the new ‘long-term’ duration for LNG SPAs? The average tenor of long-term LNG SPAs has decreased materially over the years. Traditionally, the average tenor of long-term LNG SPAs was around 20 years. According to the 2021 Annual Report of the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL), the volume weighted average duration of long and medium-term contracts decreased from 16.4 years in 2018 to 11.7 years in 2020. GIIGNL recently reported that the majority of LNG SPAs signed in 2021 had terms of approximately 10 years, approximately half of which were with aggregators and traders.

September 2021

Conclusion: Implications for project financing? The development of medium to large scale gas liquefaction plants is capital intensive, and the capital expenditure required is usually measured in the billions of US dollars. The initial three trains of the 13.5 million tpy Cameron LNG in Louisiana, US, cost approximately US$10 billion, and the 2bmillion tpy Donggi-Senoro LNG Project in Indonesia cost approximately US$2.9 billion. Given the amount of CAPEX required, private liquefaction plant developers have typically required limited recourse financing to fund the development of their projects. LNG SPAs or, for several US projects, tolling agreements, are the revenue-generating contracts that frame the tenor of the debt available for liquefaction projects, with the final debt maturity generally set years before the scheduled expiration of the LNG SPAs or tolling agreements underpinning the financing. For example, the Cameron LNG project in the US has US$7.5bbillion, 16-year debt supported by tolling agreements with 20-year terms. As noted above, the average tenor of long-term LNG SPAs has decreased materially over the years. This trend will be an interesting test of project financiers’ appetite to offer debt that extends beyond the term of the fully contracted offtake. Whilst lenders have historically shied away from this, they may get comfortable banking an uncontracted merchant ‘tail’, given the growing commoditisation and liquidity of the LNG market brought about by the involvement of traders and aggregators. According to Paul Harrison, a project finance partner at White & Case Tokyo who recently advised the financiers on the landmark US$20 billion project financing of Mozambique LNG: “The trend towards commoditisation in an increasingly liberalised and liquid LNG market is well-established and it has been thought for some time that the logical next step in LNG project financing would be for lenders to take a higher degree of market risk. Developers of greenfield LNG projects have been looking to test lender appetite for medium-term LNG SPAs with re-contracting risk and for debt sizing credit for short-term/uncontracted volumes. Consideration has also been given to whether a borrowing base structure, typical in upstream oilfield financing, could be adapted for LNG. However, these structures have not gained significant traction to date.” Paul also highlighted the effect of the energy transition on bankability considerations for LNG projects: “There is an emerging tension between the structural changes in the LNG market and the impact of the energy transition. Despite LNG traditionally being seen as the cleanest fossil fuel, the long-term future for the sector has become more uncertain as the energy transition has accelerated and this uncertainty will make it harder for lenders to take market risk.” Whilst opinions differ on the future state of the LNG market, there is consensus that the LNG market is at a precipitous inflection point and will soon be dramatically different than the market we know today.

Note Any views expressed in this publication are strictly those of the authors and should not be attributed in any way to White & Case LLP.

Noah Silberschmidt, Silverstream Technologies, UK, explains why greening LNG carrier fleets is a commercial necessity as the global shipping industry looks to decarbonise.

ecarbonisation is a historic challenge for the global shipping industry, no matter the sector or segment. Take LNG carriers for example. With a global fleet totalling more than 640 carriers at the end of 2020, LNG carriers are set to further increase in prevalence alongside the mounting production and uptake of LNG. And with LNG heralded as a key transitionary marine fuel, action must be taken to ensure the lynchpin of the fuel’s supply chain, LNG carriers, are able to stay in operation, remain compliant with regulation, and remain profitable. New environmental regulation, such as the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) – which will be applied retroactively to all vessels in service – and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), adds further pressure on shipowners and operators to reduce

their carbon footprint now. Given this context, it is clear that a combination of collaboration, innovation, and expert engineering will be integral to enabling the decarbonisation of the shipping industry. With the LNG carrier segment currently under scrutiny in terms of environmental performance, and under pressure to perform from an economic standpoint, owners and operators must choose easily implementable, effective, and rigorously proven solutions that enable efficiencies to be obtained today. Proven clean technologies are one of the best ways to provide owners and operators with an economically viable and immediate-term solution to accelerate efficiency improvements across their fleets. Moreover, the application of proven clean technologies is not only a compliance

imperative – because of the IMO’s new requirements on holistic vessel efficiency – but it is also a commercial one, because they enable vessels to remain competitive and flexible in an increasingly complex market. Meanwhile, with the cost of low and zero carbon marine fuels set to continue rising, increasing fuel efficiency will continue to be an

Figure 1. Silverstream Technologies’ air release unit (ARU).

important element in determining future business strategy that is achievable with clean technology. Purchasing decisions made today therefore pave the future path for vessel efficiency and raise the benchmark for ship design.

Evolution is the key to survival The important role and major influence of charterers must not be forgoten, whose attitudes are changing with the wider industry towards choosing cleaner transportation options. In fact, Norwegian shipowner Golar LNG recently stated that the implementation of new efficiency regulations could threaten the viability of older LNG carriers as charterers view them as less profitable. The ramifications of this are twofold; current vessels must be retrofitted to maximise their efficiency, while the next generation of carriers must be built with the consideration that they will need to compete against new-builds in 30 years’ time. Once again, this highlights the requirement for proven, effective, and available clean technologies that last a vessel’s entire lifecycle. The combination of these factors is already shaping the approach owners and yards are taking to LNG carrier design, with more holistic, integrated thinking coming to the fore. Likewise, it is also impacting the way key stakeholders in the space work together to market and sell clean technology solutions. Wärtsilä, for example, now offers more integrated packages as a reaction to the demand in the market for a holistic approach to voyage optimisation.

Air lubrication – a clean technology available today

Figure 2. The Silverstream® System installed on the Methane Patricia Camila – a 2010-built, 170 000 m3 LNG carrier.

Figure 3. A rigid layer of micro-bubbles lubricates the flat bottom of the hull.

September 2021

One such clean technology that is proven to be significantly effective in increasing fuel efficiency on a range of vessel types, including LNG carriers, is air lubrication. For example, Silverstream Technologies’ market mature air lubrication system (ALS), the Silverstream® System, represents one of the only proven, available, and fuel-agnostic clean technologies for both existing and new vessels. The Silverstream technology works by producing a thin layer of microbubbles over the flat bottom of a vessel’s hull. This carpet of microbubbles reduces frictional resistance between the water and hull, improving the efficiency of the vessel. The technology has unlocked independently verified fuel consumption and associated emission reductions of 5 - 10% on LNG carriers. Most recently, independent testing of the retrofitted Silverstream ALS on the Shell-chartered 168 000 m3 LNG carrier Methane Patricia Camila achieved verified performance of 6.6% net savings. Shell contracted Silverstream Technologies in October 2020 to install Silverstream’s ALS on the Methane Patricia Camila. The installation was completed successfully within the vessel’s normal dry-docking period at Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Shipyard in Singapore. This installation was able to progress despite the added supply chain pressures caused by COVID-19, which have added significant disruption that technology manufacturers must use their expertise to navigate. Even so, as COVID-19 restrictions prevented Silverstream’s service engineers from sailing with the Methane Patricia

Camila, the ship’s crew undertook commissioning and testing of the system on several voyages after departing from Singapore. This testing is how Silverstream and Shell reached the verified 6.6% net savings figure. Future work will also look at how the technology’s performance can be combined with Shell’s hydrodynamics optimisation programme, JAWS, to increase understanding on optimum draft and trim conditions when using an air lubrication technology. This installation proves the viability of air lubrication as both a new-build and retrofit solution in the LNG carrier fleet. Indeed, air lubrication is particularly suited to LNG carriers for a number of reasons. Their size, low draft variation, high speeds, long operation time, and large flat-bottomed area all combine to predispose them favourably towards air lubrication technologies such as Silverstream’s ALS. To reinforce this, the installation of Silverstream’s technology onboard 14 new-build LNG carriers being constructed at Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea reflects the increasing priority being placed on greening the LNG carrier fleet. Notably, the strong pipeline of orders for the technology and increased enquiries from Asian shipyards also highlights that proven clean technologies, such as the Silverstream ALS, are likely to become a new-build standard over the coming years.

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In addition to expert engineering, innovation, and a change in mindset, partnership will also play an important role in optimising vessel design, encouraging the uptake of clean technologies and scaling key solutions. For example, Silverstream Technologies signed a partnership agreement with Wärtsilä in late 2019 for the future sales and servicing of the Silverstream ALS, with the aim of fully integrating the technology within its propulsion solutions. The rationale behind the collaboration is to further increase efficiency on new-build vessels and for vessels undergoing retrofits. By licensing Wärtsilä to sell its air lubrication technology and integrate it into vessel design, Silverstream Technologies extends its reach even further and enables efficiency savings for more owners and operators. In providing owners and operators with multiple avenues to access clean technologies, the company can directly encourage uptake. In the end, its vision is for clean technologies to be a standard on all new-build vessels, and particularly new-build LNG carriers.

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LNG carriers will play an important role in supporting the demands of the global economy and are vital in enabling the continued uptake of LNG as a low carbon fuel. However, fuel efficiencies must be pursued because of the increased scrutiny placed on the industry, and because it is the right thing to do. With further orders of the Silverstream ALS in the pipeline from major players in the shipping industry, LNG carriers represent just one of the many important segments within the market for which the installation of the technology can make a real difference. Although no one singular solution holds the key to total decarbonisation, implementing a mix of proven clean technology solutions now will be fundamental to helping create a profitable, truly sustainable fleet of the future.

2021 and beyond

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NG as a marine fuel has, for the last 50+ years, been cited as a reliable fuel choice for shipping’s efforts towards a more sustainable future. Not only is the infrastructure already scaling up for synthetic and bio-LNG, but given its cost and operational abilities, the fuel’s popularity — both in terms of use and in investment — is accelerating. However, while fuel choice is a vital piece to the decarbonisation puzzle, external factors play a significant role in ensuring shipping is steadily moving towards the 2030, 2040, and 2050 regulations set out by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). One such factor: hard biofouling. Hard biofouling, caused by organisms such as the barnacle, creates some of the highest levels of hydrodynamic drag on a vessel hull, not only compromising the speed, efficiency, and profitability goals of a vessel, but more so its emissions reductions objectives. In fact, hard biofouling is thought to add approximately 110 million tpy of excess carbon emissions across the maritime industry as a result of a lack of understanding and ineffective antifouling technology. To put this into perspective, a 2011 study conducted by Michael P. Schultz states that a navy vessel with 10% barnacle fouling requires 36% more power to maintain the same speed. And that impact certainly can ripple through the commercial waves. A 2020 study conducted by I-Tech and independent marine coatings consultant Safinah Group, estimated that hard biofouling adds approximately US$6 billion to shipping’s annual bunker bill.

For LNG-fuelled vessels, and LNG carriers, biofouling can reduce the environmental and cost benefits of the fuels. The reasons for this are manifold, not only in regard to the immediate — such as increasing emissions and cost — but in the long-term. Recent months have seen an influx of LNG new-builds, and if these vessels are going to remain operationally effective beyond 2030, the impact of fouling on this emerging fleet must be taken seriously. So, what are the effects of biofouling on a ship, and more importantly, how can the LNG industry mitigate the risks associated?

Biofouling on LNG carriers and LNGfuelled vessels Antifouling coatings are a crucial aspect of ensuring the ongoing security and efficiency of any vessel, including when it comes to the LNG sector. Indeed, the majority of LNG-fuelled new-builds or dual-fuelled vessels — as well as LNG carriers themselves — are constructed in shipyards in the Asia regions, such as in Japan and South Korea. With their warmer waters comes the emergence of hard fouling hotspots: areas which have a higher propensity for attracting and retaining barnacles. Of course, the more recent expansion of LNG infrastructure in Singapore should also be considered. The increase of LNG bunkering licenses means more and more vessels are wading into hotspots. Warmer water plus ineffective coatings equal a

Dr Markus Hoffmann, I-Tech AB, Sweden, discusses the impact and cost of barnacles and why they matter to LNG’s success as a marine fuel.

greater risk of hard fouling and biofouling for bunkering vessels. Exacerbated by the effects of climate change, warmer water can prove detrimental to a vessel, particularly when it comes to lower activity vessels. For new-builds, this point is particularly poignant. Due to the complexity of the vessels being constructed, LNG newbuilds can be idle in water for significantly longer, remaining static for as long as 12 - 18 months at any one time. Comparatively, even when in operation, vessels with lower activity levels are more likely to be impacted by biofouling and hard fouling to a greater degree. The aforementioned 2019 study from I-Tech and Safinah Group cited that the frequency of hard fouling was relatively higher on the lower activity vessels — regardless of ship type — with some 45% of lower activity vessels surveyed suffering from hard fouling coverage of >10% compared to just 27% of higher activity vessels. With all this in mind, effective antifouling coatings have never been so crucial in the efforts to reduce emissions (as the benefits of LNG fuel indicates) and protect a vessel’s operations and cost impact. This includes exercising coatings best practice — more details are outlined next — during the build, retrofit, and service upkeep of a vessel, not just as it is taking to the waters.

Biofouling’s hidden home Hard biofouling may have a physical and tangible impact — and its effect clearly notable — but there is another aspect to biofouling which remains hidden and is not immediately obvious: niche areas. Niche areas of a vessel are those operational components largely internal to a ship, rather than the smooth hull area. This includes boot tops, sea chests, gratings, and dry dock support strips, and although data is difficult to obtain, niche areas could account for as much as 10% of the total underwater hull surface of the global shipping fleet.1 So, what specifically is the significance here? I-Tech and Safinah Group’s study found that at least 95% of the global commercial fleet has heavily fouled niche areas. For one, this increases the risks of poor vessel operations, as the accumulation of barnacles in niche area cavities and infestation on grates can cause significant maintenance problems with mission critical equipment. For example, fouling build-up in a sea chest can impact the functioning of the box coolers, a vessel’s water-cooling system. When box coolers are fouled, heat exchange is reduced and either the temperature is not lowered sufficiently, or more energy will be needed to obtain the target temperature. Also, if the water inlets which are covered by grates on the hull surface are clogged, heat exchange can be reduced. In a worst-case scenario, extreme barnacle infestation on their inlet grates can lead to total failure of the box cooler system. Niche areas have restricted water flow, limiting the action of biocidal coatings which require a flow of water to remove the top layer of coating. This means a thick leach layer of depleted biocides forms, preventing the proper action of the antifouling coating. Similarly, these areas are frequently susceptible to greater turbulence, compromising the coating more so than easier, smooth hull areas. But when application occurs across a vessel, oftentimes niche areas do not receive the attention they require and can prove challenging to access, and therefore clean and coat,

September 2021

primarily due to their complex and unsmooth surfaces — unlike the hull of a vessel, which can be simply coated to an effective degree. At the same time, the fouling control solutions used for the hull might not be the ideal choice for niche areas. Fouling control solutions should be used which work under the different hydrodynamic conditions in the niche areas. This can be higher polishing paints which have been designed to work at lower vessel speeds and for longer idling periods. Alternatively, the biocide release rate can be increased to have a similar biofouling prevention effect. Biosecurity and the threat to ecosystems is another distinguishing element, as niche areas can prove an ideal vector for invasive species. In some parts of the world, evidence suggests that 70 - 80% of invasive species introductions have occurred through biofouling. Consequently, these parts of the hull’s submerged structure cannot be ignored when it comes to biofouling.

What can be done? Ultimately, if shipping is to successfully decarbonise its operations, and do so in the coming decades, operators and owners must prioritise the protection of their investments. For LNG-fuelled ships and LNG carriers alike, that includes effective and long-term protection against hard fouling and biofouling in general, not only for the efficiency of the vessel, but for its emissions reduction efforts also. Primarily, the best course of action is adopting a coating with an effective antifouling agent and ensuring correct and thorough application. This is never so apparent as in niche areas. Greater attention to niche area coating is vital given its complex and oftentimes dangerous surface areas — and of course, its propensity for invasive species transfer. However, the antifouling coating needed for smooth hull areas might not be the optimum choice for niche areas, namely due to the increased impact of waves and turbulence on these areas, in turn compromising the quality of coatings. Therefore, a high polishing rate in coatings will support high performance and low-water flow conditions. Greater time and attention should also be paid to coating when a ship is under construction or in dry dock. Due to the increasing use of LNG around the world, including in a variety of environmental landscapes, LNG carriers and fuelled ships are adaptive to dynamic conditions. This reinforces the need for effective antifouling coatings. Selektope® is an active antifouling agent which, when added to paints and coatings, repels barnacles and other forms of biofouling. Due to its high concentrate, only a minimal amount of Selektope is required to deliver high quality antifouling technology, reducing the biocidal load of the agent and achieving the same effect as competitor biocides but in significantly lower quantities. With the right antifouling technology, in-the-know implementation, and ongoing care, all vessel types can mitigate the risks associated with hard fouling and biofouling, leaving LNG carriers and LNG-fuelled vessels to continue efforts towards reducing harmful GHG emissions.

References 1.

MOSER, C.S., WIER, T.P., FIRST, M.R. et al. ‘Quantifying the extent of niche areas in the global fleet of commercial ships: the potential for “super-hot spots” of biofouling’, Biological Invasions, Vol. 19, (2017), pp.1745 - 1759.

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Hanxiang Jin, Rambabu Chundru, and Brian Pettinato, Elliott Group, USA, discuss fit capacity and torque predictions for impellers used in the LNG industry.

entrifugal compressors play a critical role in the process industries, and that includes LNG. Within each compressor is a shaft with one or more impellers. Impellers are the essential components that perform work on the gas. Each impeller is driven by shaft torque and must be fixed to the shaft and not slip during operation. One method of transmitting torque is through a key and keyway, but this creates stress concentration as well as anisotropic shaft stiffness between the key and non-keyed bending planes. Furthermore, keyways add manufacturing cost. A better means of

torque transmission is by friction, whereby the impeller is shrunk onto the shaft like most coupling hubs. However, unlike a coupling hub, an impeller’s cross-section is highly non-uniform, and the centrifugal growth during operation is considerably more difficult to calculate; hence the torque carrying capacity is more difficult to determine.

Determining the torque capacity of the impeller-to-shaft juncture In this article, a methodology is described for determining a conservative torque carrying capacity of the impellerto-shaft juncture based on reference FEA simulations. The method is based on the contact pressure equation of a coupling cylinder bore and shaft:1,2

Figure 1. Bore deformation of interference fit under rotation.

Where E is the modulus of elasticity; δ is the static diametral interference fit rate between shaft and hub (δ= I/D); I is the diametal interference fit; D is the Nominal shaft diameter; δe is the loss of interference fit rate due to differential expansion of the impeller bore and shaft due to rotation; P c is the contact pressure; D o is the nominal hub outside diameter; δb is the diametral bore growth scaled by shaft diameter due to rotation; δs is the diametral shaft growth scaled by shaft diameter due to rotation; and ω is the rotating speed. Figure 1 demonstrates loss of fit for three different configurations. The bore growth for a simple cylinder can be obtained with elasticity equations without too much trouble, and the trend is always the same; the contact pressure decreases with speed and it does so uniformly. For a more complex geometry, such as a conical section, the contact pressure along the axial length does not decrease uniformly and may actually increase at certain locations due to the prying effect of the centrifugal growth. A complex geometry like an impeller typically requires finite element analysis (FEA) to determine the centrifugal growth.

Using FEA to determine centrifugal growth There are two issues that need to be considered when computing the contact pressure for impellers. z

1 – The loss of interference fit rate is non-uniform along the axial direction and is variant for different unique impellers.

2 – The nominal hub outside diameter of a cylinder is different than an impeller outer diameter, which is not uniform along the axial direction.

These two issues can be solved by performing a series of FEA simulations to determine an equivalent nominal diameter and a growth rate, as described in the equation below where the growth rate is a conservative fit of simulation data.

Figure 2. Rotor assembly of the selected impeller wheel.

Figure 3. Full circle geometry and contact results.

September 2021

Where u is the impeller radial bore deformation, a function of the speed squared; N is the given shaft speed; δb is the impeller bore growth scaled by shaft diameter due to rotation; and D is the nominal shaft diameter. The function, (N, α ), is a conservative fit of a standard set of simulation cases. The contact force is obtained by integrating the contact pressure along the axial direction, and the torque capacity is obtained from the contact force, shaft diameter, and friction factor. In order to validate this methodology, the procedure of predicting the impeller bore growth is examined first using a sample impeller. The rotor assembly with the selected impeller wheel is shown in Figure 2. The geometry of the selected impeller has been imported and then modified to a sector model to reduce the FEA computation cost. The full circle

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geometry and contact pressure status are shown in Figureb3. In this case, the impeller had an initial interference fit rate of 0.5 mm/m and fit FEA simulation was performed on

Figure 4. Impeller bore deformation, prediction vs simulation. 0.55 mm/m interference fit rate.

Figure 5. Contact state comparison. Prediction vs FEA simulation.

a standard set of cases to obtain the data used for the curve fit in the equation earlier. The impeller bore deformation data from the simulation was extracted and used to construct impeller bore growth under any working condition using the aforementioned equation. The predicted impeller deformation was then compared with the FEA simulations of several different rpm cases, and the results are shown in Figure 4. From Figure 4, one can observe that the 3000brpm case and 4000 rpm case match the simulation results better than the 5000brpm case. The reason for the divergence in the 5000brpm case is that the impeller bore had already lost contact with the shaft in some of the area. The engineering approximation of the impeller bore deformation used in this article only needs to consider the interference fit area. As a result, at the contact lost area, the prediction is no longer valid and need not to be considered since it does not contribute to the contact force. The interference fit predicted by the method introduced in this study has been compared with the FEA simulations as well. The simulation results of the contact status and contact pressure are shown in Figure 5. The green colour on the left figures shows interference presence from predictions; the red colour means surface separation. In the FEA simulations, red colour to yellow colour means sticking behaviour changing to surface separation. The figure shows good conformance between the two sets of results. The obtained contact force and power carrying capacity using the methodology in this study is verified with the FEA simulations as well. During the verification process, simulations and predictions match well when there is full contact between the impeller bore and shaft. However, after the interference loss in some of the contact area, the torque capacity prediction would become conservative. The results are shown in Figure 6 for the standard frame size and scaled frame size.

Conclusion The method introduced in this study provides a fast way to evaluate the torque carrying capacity of the impeller-to-shaft juncture and visualising the interference. The predictions are obtained based on pre-run reference FEA simulations. In application, the results can be computed instantly, giving a huge advantage in estimation of impeller performance in various circumstances.

References 1.

Figure 6. Allowable power comparison, prediction vs simulation. 0.5 mm/m interference fit rate.

September 2021

SHIGLEY and MISCHKE, Mechanical Engineering Design, Fourth Edition, McGraw Hill, 1983, pp. 77.

2. ANSI/AGMA 9003-C17, Flexible Couplings – Keyless Fits.

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Figure 1. The LM9000 is an aeroderivative turbine design.

Tommaso Olivieri and Daniele Marcucci, Baker Hughes, Italy, share how continuous improvement and innovation can lead to lower emissions in LNG plants.

he LNG industry is under constant pressure to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with each step of the value chain, while also maintaining LNG affordability to meet increasing energy demand. The world is at a critical inflection point with calls to accelerate the energy transition, such as the International Energy Agency’s recently released roadmap, ‘Net Zero by 2050’. Although the IEA report projects a significant drop of natural gas demand in these coming crucial decades, natural gas will remain a major source of energy, especially for regions where gas has yet to supplant more carbon intensive coal, so it is of the utmost importance to produce and supply it in a more efficient, decarbonised way. Fuels are not the problem – needless emissions are. Focusing on LNG production, it is clear that real opportunities currently exist to lower costs, improve efficiency, and reduce GHG emissions. This requires installing emissions reduction technology into existing plants and designing the plants of the future using emissions reduction as one of the guiding principles. Now is a momentous time of introspection, re-evaluation, and reinvention in many aspects of society and especially in the global energy industry. For Baker Hughes’ part in the LNG realm, the company is delivering an efficient turbine in a notably high-power range and making a measurable and meaningful difference today.

Market-driven solutions Baker Hughes has proven expertise supporting LNG customers, with 100+ trains and more than 400 million tpy of installations powered by Baker Hughes technology. In recent months, the company has been collaborating with customers all around the world who aim to reduce emissions from their operations on both existing and new projects. Its customers are setting net zero targets for 2050 and Baker Hughes has aligned with them on achieving intermediate successes as well as implementing major improvements today. Three trends are clearly emerging: z Technology efficiency: Highly efficient gas turbines and compressors serve parallel purposes – lower emissions and lower costs.

z Integrated solutions: Integrating renewable energies, hydrogen, and carbon capture technologies can provide a huge benefit to the carbon intensity of LNG production. Baker Huges is currently collaborating with some customers to explore each one of these solutions.

z Capital efficiency: Modularisation of equipment enables total cost reduction and project risk minimisation. This is directly linked to emissions reduction since it can make decarbonised LNG production cost competitive with traditional LNG. At the core of these solutions is a particularly powerful machine which Baker Hughes recently developed to bring forth a substantial efficiency increase: the LM9000.

Carbon reduction by design

Figure 2. The LM9000 turbine is housed in modular installations.

The latest aeroderivative gas turbine from Baker Hughes, the LM9000, is a 73 MW+ driver that has been developed with LNG customers in mind and with a strong focus on reducing the carbon footprint of the liquefaction plant. Aero technologies achieve very high simple-cycle efficiency to reduce direct CO2 emissions because the same power can be achieved using less fuel. Some architectural features, such as the completely new free power turbine, have been introduced to provide greater operational flexibility. The turbine design also ensures successful start-ups with no need to vent process gases in the centrifugal compressors, thus further reducing the environmental impact of this driver. As for other emissions, this gas turbine is among the best of available technologies with values below 15 ppm for NOx and 25 ppm for CO2 at ISO condition. The high-power density of this gas turbine brings a reduced footprint compared to traditional LNG plants that also makes it ideal for offshore. With this small footprint and innovative module design for fast and easy maintenance – the engine swap can be performed in less than 24 hours – the LM9000 is designed to be an ideal gas turbine for all mechanical drive and power generation applications.

Energy Renaissance

Figure 3. At its heart, the LM9000 is a 73+ MW driver designed to reduce emissions with high-powered efficiency.

Figure 4. The Baker Hughes turbomachinery testing facility in Massa, Italy. Many engineers are focused on energy transition technologies, including lower-carbon LNG operations, carbon capture, utilisation and storage, and advanced hydrogen solutions.

September 2021

Key to Baker Hughes’ development effort was the building of a new testing facility on the Tuscan coast, an hour’s drive from the company’s offices in Florence, Italy. The facility housed a prototype engine running over 3000 special instruments to fully validate the product and verify all the major technical features, including performance and operability. This very same facility is also used for all the production factory acceptance tests (FATs). The facility is located in Massa, Italy, between the Apennines and the Tyrrhenian Sea – a location where Michelangelo used to go and pick the right marble for the masterpieces that are still enjoyed today. Baker Hughes operates its testing much like dabVinci approached his inventions, with curiosita and dimostrazione, which is a commitment to testing knowledge. The inventor also believed in embracing uncertainty and as Baker Hughes geared up to test the enhancements to the LM9000, there was a sense of controlled uncertainty before it realised its success. Each crucial step of the energy transition is taken with these Eureka moments. Assembling a global engineering team for the LM9000 turbine test was limited by COVID-19 travel restrictions during 2020. With Italy in full lockdown, the business continuity planning became creative. The team stepped up and set up, in record time, a virtual testing framework with a bare minimum crew present and over 100 technicians connected from all over the world. This approach set a newly adopted standard for remote testing that the company has also used for customer testing, including at the Calcasieu Pass LNG project in Louisiana, US, and for the LM9000 test for the Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia.

Arctic LNG 2 In December 2018, NOVATEK selected Baker Hughes to supply LM9000 aeroderivative gas turbines for the Arctic LNG 2 project. A successful remote prototype test completion in May 2020 paved the way for the LM9000’s use in NOVATEK’s other new LNG projects. The test confirmed this GT as the most powerful and efficient aeroderivative gas turbine in its class – with more than 44% simple-cycle efficiency and a power output 15% higher than industry peers. This efficiency is key to driving lower carbon intensity and, together with lower NOx emissions (40% lower than competing technology), makes for a more environmentally sensitive solution. In 4Q20, three string tests, with a complete field configuration, both in mechanical drive and power generation were successfully run in Massa. Baker Hughes’ scope of work for Arctic LNG 2 includes the supply of turbomachinery equipment for power generation and three liquefaction trains on gravity-based structures (GBS) that will produce 6.6 million tpy of LNG each, for a total production of 19.8 million tpy.

Looking ahead The LM9000 testing was a success and it is already in production, but the company cannot rest on its laurels. The energy transition requires collaboration for further innovations, not just in LNG, but in cleaner, more efficient power generation; the deployment of a variety of carbon capture utilisation and storage solutions; the development of the hydrogen economy; and massive expansions in renewable power, including for

Figure 5. The LM9000 gas turbine was tested at full speed and full load at the Baker Hughes turbomachinery testing facility in Massa, Italy.

electrolysers to produce green hydrogen. The availability of the LM9000 today to reduce LNG train emissions shows meaningful progress for climate goals can be made now. The company hopes that this trailblazing effort will inspire other significant developments across the energy spectrum on the path to net zero. The energy transition is well underway and is being advanced from within the industry as energy providers demand more and better technologies today. The biggest engine of change in the world is the collective brain trust of energy engineers who truly want to build a sustainable future now.

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Stefano Calandri, Vanzetti Engineering, Italy, provides an overview of the journey of LNG and the role of cryogenic pumps throughout the stages.

nergy trends are increasingly focused on alternative, renewable, and green energy. In terms of transport, in addition to the electric and hybrid option, there has been a shift towards fuels with an extremely low environmental impact. In a global situation that is adapting to worldwide low emission standards correlated with values defined by the 2030 zero emissions protocol, now more than ever it seems indispensable to continue the change towards all those sources of energy with a low environmental impact. However, it should be noted that unfortunately renewable energy alone is not able to cover the entire need of countries.

A solution exists LNG is one of the alternatives that is proving successful. It has properties that can contribute to achieving the goals set by the 2030 protocol. The future that awaits, in terms of clean

energy, could provide new and numerous opportunities. The increase in the use of LNG is not limited to just the transport sector but a reality that encompasses industrial areas and the equally important energy production sector. This transition fuel has significant advantages if compared to the parameters of fossil fuels. Vanzetti Engineering, an Italian enterprise with over 30 years of experience in the LNG sector, understood the potential of this type of fuel right from the start, manufacturing cryogenic pumps that are able to support any downstream or upstream application of the LNG value chain.

A sector continuously expanding LNG is a valid energy source as long as some basic rules are followed. As a matter of fact, when LNG is handled safely, it represents the best alternative to fossil fuels, since its carbon emissions are 85% lower, and thus it is characterised

Figure 1. Computerised test and control phase on the rotor of a centrifugal pump.

specific requirements are necessary that make it possible to operate without problems in this condition. Vanzetti Engineering uses the ARTIKA pump which represents the type of pump specifically studied to work submerged, inserted in the cryostat or storage tanks. The alternative cryogenic pumps, like the VT series, centrifugal and submerged centrifugal are suitable for working in the marine, automotive, and industrial sectors. In terms of the marine sector, the applications refer to fuelling systems for vessel engines and ship refuelling. For the automotive sector, cryogenic pumps are used in LNG and L-CNG refuelling stations as well as in transferring systems from tank trucks to storage tanks. In the industrial field, which includes numerous handling systems, there are satellite stations for fuelling and supporting the pipeline network, as well as the distribution to power plants for the generation of electricity and cogeneration via gas turbines. There is also the area of smaller container filling for industrial and refuelling use: medium and high-pressure nitrogen, argon, and oxygen cylinders that are loaded through lines that use cryogenic pumps.

Cryogenic pumps with a high technical level

Figure 2. Rotor and helicoid detail of a centrifugal pump. by a very low environmental impact. Moreover, this type of fuel is increasingly used in the field of transport, in light of the European regulations on emissions. One of the most significant advantages of LNG is that it rarely needs special treatments after extraction and can be used directly, unlike fossil fuels that require energy to be refined. Its composition is almost all methane (between 90 - 98%) combined with other gases such as butane and ethane for the remaining percentage. For example, LNG has been witnessing increasingly growing uses in the marine transport sector where, among other things, numerous ships are undergoing conversion processes for engine fuel supply, from traditional fossil fuels to LNG. Various plants have already been designed in Italy for LNG distribution for road transport, and this details a lot regarding the future developments of this type of fuel and its multiple uses.

LNG’s journey LNG is obtained by lowering the temperature to a value equal to -160˚C. The main advantage is that for the same quantity of gas, the volume occupied by LNG is 600 times less than the volume of the same quantity in a gaseous state. LNG undergoes various steps during its journey, these range from transport via methane tanker towards storage facilities or regasification, to then be sent to various uses through a range of distribution types. The latter can be performed through pipelines or transport of the molecule by tankers. It is necessary to constantly comply with the temperature and pressure values to keep LNG in a liquid form. Therefore,

September 2021

To work safely and problem free, both pump types must be designed to have a maximum level of reliability, an absolutely vital condition when making LNG transfers with pressures around several hundreds of m3/h. In terms of the type of submerged pump, the simple construction, quality of materials, and flexibility are the results of thorough research and development. An example of the ARTIKA construction approach is represented by the absence of gaskets and bearing lubrication that exploits the liquid condition of the same LNG. This aspect is very important since any type of fault that occurs on a submerged pump entails more intrusive solutions which are not necessary for an external pump. Thus, having a safe and reliable device makes it possible to significantly reduce any machine downtime and all the consequent problems.

Not just quality but also expertise The LNG journey from extraction until its use is a complex flow that requires an in-depth understanding. The success in designing or setting up any LNG value chain is the result of joint work of two teams: supplier and customer. The higher the customer’s level of expertise the easier it will be to design an LNG system with excellent characteristics. As discussed earlier, reliability and long duration of the devices are absolutely necessary factors for providing a continuous energy flow. In this case, training that a manufacturer can offer its customers represents a plus that can really make a difference. As for the customer, having an in-depth knowledge of the product means being able to use all its characteristics in favour of the bottom line. The objective of training is also to offer the user all of the information necessary for optimal use of the devices, thus avoiding any useless faults or damage and managing to extend the useful life of the pump, with considerable savings of money and time due to maintenance. Vanzetti Engineering, along with supplying pumps for LNG, proposes training courses (including customised courses) for all customers to expand their expertise and learn the details of all cryogenic device aspects, allowing the final user to be able to act personally if faults occur or for routine maintenance.

The Global Expert in LNG Turbomachinery Optimization

CCC controls more than 100 large-scale LNG trains worldwide, which contribute 95% of the globe’s LNG MTPA capacity. We leverage 45+ years of proven experience in turbomachinery optimization to ensure LNG trains are optimally designed and operated.

Whether you’re an LNG plant end-user, engineering contractor, EPC or operator, trust CCC to optimize the operability, production, energy and emissions of LNG trains in the Pre-FEED and FEED stages. By ensuring projects are optimally designed in project documentation, CCC helps world-class customers avoid risks and change management costs in subsequent phases. CCC’s engineers work closely with our customers at their location, supplementing our proven experience with guidance from global subject matter experts. With 150 turbomachinery control engineers in key global markets, CCC is ready to support your project from pre-FEED, FEED and EPC through commissioning and ongoing operations. Our engineering expertise delivers an unmatched combination of disciplines, processes, machinery, instrumentation and control--all working to enhance your project’s bottom line.

Enhance Your LNG Project’s Bottom Line • Reduce CapEx and OpEx • Reduce project risks and change management costs • Enhance safety, reliability, process yield and energy savings • Increase project design control and achieve compliance ZLWK JOREDO ORFDO VSHFLÀFDWLRQV • Increase designed Production Availability

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Lyle Hanna, Commonwealth mmonwealth LNG, US USA, provides an million tpy export LNG LN terminal project overview of the 8.4 million evelopment in Louisiana, Louisia under development US.

esilience. Residents of Cameron Parish,, Louisiana, US, have come to know the full measure off the term as they continue to rebound from taking the brunt of obal pandemic two 2020 hurricanes that coincided with a global and sharp downturn in the energy industry so vital to their economic wellbeing. ort terminal Commonwealth LNG’s 8.4 million tpy export e Calcasieu project under development at the mouth of the d by these Ship Channel near Cameron was also impacted

events. However, Commonwealth now looks to not only aid in the region’s ongoing ongo recovery, but also expand Southwest Louisiana’s promi prominence as a US leader in exporting clean and affordable LN LNG to all corners of the world.

Leading the th development The project’s lead leadership team is committed to building a world-class LNG ffacility by staying relentlessly focused on managing risk an and lowering capital cost. The effort is being

led by Commonwealth CEO Paul Varello, who founded the company in 2014. “I took the time to assemble the best team I could find for this very important project, and I continue to be very pleased with the results,” said Varello. “My teammates share my vision for controlling costs while improving schedule, quality, operability, and safety. At our core we are creative engineers and project developers with strong experience in LNG.”

Figure 1. A fully modular design and construction approach for Commonwealth LNG’s liquefaction trains, auxiliary equipment, and LNG storage tanks will dramatically reduce on-site craft labour requirements, lower the overall capital expenditure, and trim a full year off the field construction schedule.

Figure 2. Six 50 000 m3 tanks are being yard-fabricated with a 9% nickel steel inner containment wall and a carbon steel outer wall before transportation to site. Marine facilities will accommodate LNG carriers up to 216 000 m3.

Marine offloading up to Q-Flex

Thermal oxiders & hot oil

300 000 m3 of modular LNG storage

Utilities Admin area

8.4 million tpy modular liquefaction with six 1.4 million tpy trains

393 acres secured

Figure 3. Commonwealth LNG’s location provides convenient access to a variety of gas supplies and access to the Gulf of Mexico. The facility design calls for high efficiency, state-of-the-art gas turbines, and best-in-class dry low emissions technology.

September 2021

Varello has been in the engineering and construction industry for more than 50 years. He was formerly CEO of Sterling Construction Company, a publicly held construction company with over 6000 employees building major infrastructure projects. Prior to Sterling, he was Founder of Commonwealth Engineering and Construction Company, specialising in the design and construction management of refining, chemical, LNG, and gas processing projects. Varello began his career at Fluor Corporation and for 18byears was involved in the design and construction of hundreds of major projects around the globe, including modular processing plants built in remote and inhospitable locations in the Middle East and Alaska, US. Based on this extensive background, Varello recognised early that success in the next generation of LNG facilities would require a more engineering-focused approach to drive down costs and meet escalating environmental standards. “We are an engineering-driven team with finance and commercial support,” says Varello. “Most other projects are the opposite. Because of this, we have spent the time necessary on the front end designing a facility that will allow us to achieve the lowest cost offering in the Gulf Coast.” Integral to this success is a highly modularised approach to substantially reduce both costs and schedule. Commonwealth has teamed with Technip Energies for the preliminary stages of engineering. Technip Energies has unparalleled modular LNG experience, delivering 22bmillionbtpy of modularised LNG capacity between 2016 and 2019. Among recent examples of Technip Energies’ work is the Yamal LNG project in Russia, where large and complex modules were successfully implemented in harsh climate conditions. Commonwealth LNG represents a next generation LNG export facility designed to provide a platform for meeting the unique requirements of the next wave of LNG demand. While the pandemic depressed energy markets worldwide, LNG has been surprisingly resilient, and is currently experiencing a resurgence in pricing and demand. “We expect the LNG market to continue its growth and increase significantly by the time our facility comes online in 2025,” said Varello. “Projections show the global LNG market will need additional contributions from new supply projects starting right about the middle of the decade, and the requirements grow aggressively thereafter. In the meantime, we are seeing trends toward shorter duration contracts and renewed emphasis on the ability to offer low-cost solutions.” Varello also sees increasing interest for offtake agreements based on Henry Hub-based pricing. “The robust production of shale gas results in stable current and forward prices for US natural gas, particularly when compared to other international indexes,” Varello notes. “Our analysis indicates that international LNG buyers will choose to allocate around 30% of their long-term supply portfolio to US-sourced, Henry Hub-priced LNG in order to take full advantage of this lower volatility.” Looking to ensure its share of this market segment, Commonwealth is offering tenors as short as 10 years and the lowest costs for tolling services in the US.

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wall before transportation to site. Upon installation, a concrete secondary containment wall will be added against the outer carbon steel wall. The prefabricated storage tanks will be hydrostatically tested on site. Each tank will provide 50 000 m3 of storage capacity for an aggregate capacity of 300b000 m3, or approximately 5.4 days of LNG production. The marine facilities are designed to accommodate LNG carriers ranging from 10 000 m3 (small scale carriers) to 216b000 m3 (Q-flex carriers). Four 16 in. dia. loading arms will be installed; two liquid arms, one hybrid arm that can handle liquid or vapour, and one vapour-only loading arm. Commonwealth LNG’s six process trains are Figure 4. Superimposing a scale rendering of one of Commonwealth each being designed as two connected modules LNG’s liquefaction modules on the image of Houston’s NRG football for the pre-treatment and liquefaction processes. stadium in the US illustrates the size of the units to be incorporated in the The modular components will be fabricated in six-train facility. subcontracted yards, likely in Asia, before being preassembled and transported by heavy lift Low CAPEX = low cost vessels or large barges to the site for installation. Equipment The Commonwealth LNG facility site is 393 acres, including carriers will be offloaded and transported to the prepared a storm surge wall built to withstand severe weather events, foundations by crane or self-propelled modular transporters. including Category 5 hurricanes. The perimeter wall will be Most of the facility piping will also be fabricated and loaded 26bft high on the Gulf and ship channel sides and 21 ft high into modules. on the inland sides. Installation of LNG process components, major utility Locating the facility right on the coast offers transit cost equipment, and interconnecting piping will be co-ordinated savings, better access during periods of fog, and advantages and sequenced for efficient, simultaneous workflow. when channels to more inland facilities become blocked Equipment and modules will be delivered after foundation (grounded ships, barges, sunken vessels, or debris) to deep pads have been completed to eliminate the need for draft ships such as LNG tankers. additional on-site storage. System testing will be conducted The project’s 3-mile long, 42 in. dia. feed gas pipeline will shortly after installation. connect the LNG facility with existing intrastate and interstate Over the duration of its construction period, the project is pipelines, creating a header system for the receipt of feed gas. expected to create an average of 800 on-site engineering and The feed gas will be pretreated to remove mercury, carbon construction jobs, with the workforce peaking at dioxide, water, and heavy hydrocarbons. It will then be routed approximately 2000. Once operational, staffing will include to the liquefaction unit for multiple stages of cooling at high slightly more than 200 personnel. pressure. In each stage, the gas stream will be cooled and At only 36 months from Final Investment Decision (FID) to partially liquefied at the lower temperatures provided by the substantial completion, Commonwealth’s facility will have one refrigeration cycle. of the shortest implementation schedules to date for a Six liquefaction trains, each with 1.4 million tpy of baseload LNG project. Much of this expected schedule nominal liquefaction capacity, will use Air Products and advantage stems from the proposed mid scale, multi-train Chemicals Inc.’s proprietary single mixed refrigerant modular strategy, which makes train fabrication more compact, (AP-SMRTM) technology. Air Products is one of the world’s simpler, and more repetitive, and reduces both the quantity leading providers of natural gas liquefaction technology, and duration of needed on-site resources. coil-wound heat exchangers, and related equipment and Meeting current and future services. The company has designed, manufactured, and environmental goals successfully started-up nearly 120 mid scale and large LNG As the newest entrant on the growing southwest Louisiana plants. LNG landscape, Commonwealth will be evaluating technically Commonwealth’s modular approach emphasises offsite feasible options in its design for reducing the amount of CO2 fabrication for the liquefaction trains, other utilities, and and methane generated. Varello said his company is also larger piping racks. In addition to the reduction in cost and exploring various partnering relationships with suppliers construction schedule, the plan minimises on-site laydown of technologies capable of capturing CO2 emissions for space and construction workforce requirements. commercial use or sequestration. “We are designing and building a project that will start-up Although liquefaction represents only a small portion of easily and run efficiently,” noted Varello. “We believe that our the lifecycle impact of the natural gas carbon footprint, modular design could be efficiently replicated on other LNG Commonwealth is committed to minimising or eliminating projects.” carbon emissions toward a goal of providing carbon-neutral The company is even extending modularisation to its LNG to support long-term national and international goals in storage tanks. The tanks are being yard-fabricated with a 9% climate management. nickel steel inner containment wall and a carbon steel outer

September 2021

Designing optimised FLNG topside solutions for the future energy market

33 FLNG projects to date Atshore Offshore Fixed Installations Floating

Concept — FEED — EPC Accelerating the Energy Transition

www.aragon.no

Nelson Jaramillo Pita, SYCAR LLC, USA, discusses Ecuador’s changing energy landscape and the start of foreign breakthrough into the country’s natural gas and LNG markets.

S natural gas developer SYCAR LLC is the first foreign company with permission to market natural gas in Ecuador. The Ministry of NonRenewable Natural Resources granted the company the approval to commercialise natural gas, LNG, and compressed natural gas (CNG) for the country’s industrial market. With this decision, the government effectively opens the door to the participation of the private sector in the import of fuels in Ecuador, something that has been reserved by law to the oil state owned company, Petroecuador. The Ministry of Non-Renewable Natural Resources is also targeting the possible concession of the Machala located gas-fired power plant, a project that would require a supply of natural gas beyond domestic production of the Amistad gas field, giving the import of natural gas in Ecuador an interesting business opportunity. Ecuador is a country with an important achievement in terms of power generation with 90% of the power demand being supplied by hydropower and renewables. However, due to technical issues and the massive erosion of the Coca River in the San Rafael sector, the major hydropower plant Coca Codo Sinclair, which accounts for 25% of the energy produced, is in serious risk of going out of service to be repaired. The issues above are also getting more complicated for the energy sector due to the seasonality of rains which makes the country more vulnerable to climate factors such as the El Niño phenomenon. This phenomenon causes droughts, reducing reservoirs and consequently reducing hydropower generation. In this scenario, the Government of Ecuador is taking action to have thermo power capacity ready and on standby to complement the hydropower capacity in any power generation shortfall. This includes the construction of two new combined cycles for a total of 1000 MW, increasing the importance of a reliable supply of natural gas for the country. SYCAR’s project, Jambeli LNG, looks to be a solution for this.

A first for Ecuador Jambeli LNG is the first LNG import terminal in Ecuador and includes the construction of mooring facilities for the berthing of an FSRU in the Jambeli Canal to supply natural gas to Ecuador’s industrial and electricity markets.

Figure 1. Jambeli LNG is a floating LNG facility that supplies natural gas to clients and the power sector in Ecuador. The industrial sector of Ecuador has given a positive response to the project and the future availability of LNG as an opportunity to reduce manufacturing and maintenance costs, as well as reducing its carbon footprint and improving the efficiency and lifespan of the main equipment. In this sense, LNG will be an excellent substitute to other liquid hydrocarbons such as diesel, LPG, and fuel oil. SYCAR envisioned the Jambeli LNG project from a market perspective, present and future, as importing LNG will benefit Ecuador in the short- and medium-term. It takes advantage of the increase in LNG export projects worldwide, which have kept natural gas prices very stable and low in recent years, with the usual eventual peaks such as the ones seen this year. Jambeli LNG can also be a catalyst to stimulate national gas production with E&P efforts by the private sector as well as government efforts to recover 100bmillionbft3/d of flare gas being burned in the Amazon region to be able to increment domestic gas production if a market is developed for it. The project could also drive the development of other industries of basic and finished products as well, which is essential to support the economic stability of a dollarised economy in a country that is having hard times to see a promising post-COVID future. Ecuador is an oil producing country, a former member of OPEC. The country produces approximately 500 000 bpd and reaches an average consumption of 250 bbl of refined products (diesel, gasoline, LPG, and others) which are supplied by three low conversion local refineries as well as imports. In regard to natural gas, the state-owned company, Petroecuador, operates the Amistad gas field located in the southern part of the country, which supplies gas to a gas-fired power plant as well as to a mini liquefaction plant in Bajo Alto. However, due to a natural decline in production and reserves, there is uncertainty about the future commercial production of the field without major investments – which are a large constraint for the Ecuadorian Government under the present economic conditions. With a reduction in domestic gas production, significant vulnerability of the hydropower generation, and low conversion refining assets, Ecuador is highly dependent on the use of imported fuels. Indeed, fuel imports represent close to US$2 billion/yr, out of which a large part has to be subsidised by the government. However, to reduce the increasing energy bill, the government has launched a plan for the release fuel prices by establishing price ranges, and is also opening the import of fuels to the private sector.

September 2021

The challenges for Ecuador are then to increase oil production and take its refinery assets to higher levels of efficiency and productivity. On the other hand, the government of right-wing President Guillermo Lasso is promoting Ecuador as the destiny for direct foreign investment for the exploitation of its natural resources, especially in mining which is increasing its exports by a remarkable 127% from 2020 and accounts for the fourth major Ecuadorian export after oil, bananas, and shrimp. Given this reality, the opportunity arises to massively introduce natural gas into the energy mix in Ecuador by importing LNG. SYCAR plans to take advantage of this opportunity with the Jambeli LNG project, a floating LNG facility to supply natural gas to industrial clients as well as the power sector. This initiative reinforces the security of the long-term supply of this hydrocarbon given the imminent trend of opening the hydrocarbon market to the private sector. This project represents a great opportunity to structurally change the energy mix in Ecuador by effectively and safely introducing natural gas to hydrocarbon-demanding sectors such as power and industry, and, in the future, transportation and domestic use, displacing other hydrocarbons such as diesel and LPG. It is a paradigm shift that represents a huge challenge and an opportunity for stakeholders in both the public and private sectors.

Project progress Jambeli LNG is being developed in the Jambeli Canal, in the Gulf of Guayaquil on a location near Bajo Alto in the El Oro province. This is a prime location, with water depths of 36bft on average and protection in inland waters. The project is fully licensed, having received a concession granted by the Undersecretariat for Ports and Marine and Fluvial Transport attached to the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, as well as an FSRU operating permit from the Hydrocarbon Regulation and Control Agency attached to the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources, and an environmental license approval by the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition.

Potential demand for natural gas SYCAR forecasts an initial demand of at least 50bmillionbft3/d, equivalent to 375 000 tpy of LNG, with a forecast of growth in demand of an additional 100bmillionbft3/d supported by industrial customers, if the thermo power capacity is activated in the country. Other sectors that could substitute the use of liquid fuels such as diesel and LPG are transportation and domestic use, with the most important challenge to overcome being the non-existence of local distribution networks to service this market. With plans in the electricity sector to develop 1000 MW of combined cycle power plants, another 160 million ft3/d would be needed. The refining sector can greatly benefit from imported natural gas as well for its process, especially if resid upgrade projects are launched. In conclusion, natural gas would benefit various strategic sectors of the Ecuadorian economy ensuring the stability of supply and stable prices of this fuel compared to other hydrocarbons such as diesel, in a situation in which the country cannot be 100% dependent on hydropower generation and is exposed to natural elements that it cannot control, such as the erosion of the Coca River.

TEM20 adv A5_Algemeen_Contouren.indd 1

10-03-2020 09:09

Jack Bittner, Johns Manville, USA, describes the factors to consider for insulating LNG pipes and mitigating water and vapour from entering a system.

NG facilities pose a unique set of challenges for system designers because of the properties of natural gas. At room temperature, natural gas is in its gaseous state; to liquefy it for transportation and storage, facilities must cool it to approximately -265˚F. Maintaining these temperatures is crucial to not only ensuring an optimised system that operates as efficiently as possible, but also ensuring that the LNG facility operates safely. As with all materials, when LNG returns to its gaseous state, it increases greatly in volume. Since LNG is stored at its boiling temperature, any heat gained into the LNG system will boil off some of the LNG, returning it to its gaseous state. The facility will deal with the boiled off LNG by either re-condensing it – at great expense – using the on-site refrigeration system, or venting it to the atmosphere, which wastes valuable material and is

environmentally harmful.bIf more heat is gained than can be removed by the refrigeration system, there is even potential for the system to become pressurised as the LNG vaporises. Since the LNG handling system is not designed to withstand substantial amounts of pressure, this must be avoided at all costs. Thus, to keep an LNG system operating effectively andbsafely, it must be very well insulated to limit the heat gain to a level that is manageable for the facility. Unlike high-temperature applications where heat loss typically results in a loss of process control and higher operating costs, in an LNG application, excessive heat gain can actually put the entire plant and surrounding communities at risk. This risk is why a well-designed insulation system is absolutely critical to ensuring safe and efficient operations in an LNG facility. Next, the factors that

insulation materials. This creates a unique situation where TRYMER PIR is often the most economical choice both in terms of material costs (including insulation, vapour retarder, and jacketing) and installation costs.b

Ease of fabrication

Figure 1. Trymer PIR is easily fabricated for a correct fit.

One of the crucial characteristics to ensuring an insulation system works successfully is fabricating it correctly to fit the pipe, fittings, and other pipe system components. One of the primary benefits of using a PIR insulation like TRYMER is that it is easy to fabricate correctly both in the fabrication shop and in the field. In fact, it is so easy to fabricate, that in addition to being used for insulating purposes, TRYMER is often used on movie sets, where it is carved into various components for set backgrounds. In LNG applications, this fabricability can be a key differentiator that supports a tight fitting and successfully installed insulation system. In comparison, other insulation materials used in LNG applications are commonly known to be dusty, more difficult, and costlier to fabricate and install.b

Compressive strength

Figure 2. Trymer PIR offers lower total thickness.

Compressive strength comes into play when considering the importance of ensuring the insulation system operates as designed. The great degree of caution needed to minimise heat gain into the LNG system means that it is crucial that the insulation maintains its thermal performance. This means that it must remain at its designed and specified thickness and shape so that it can maintain its thermal performance and help protect the vapour retarder from damage. As a result, many insulation system designers prefer to specify insulations with a higher compressive strength, like TRYMER PIR or cellular glass, to ensure that the insulation is strong enough to withstand the typical abuse it will experience throughout its lifetime.

Water resistance system designers should consider when selecting an LNG insulation material are outlined.

Thermal conductivity Since limiting heat gain into the LNG system is one of the crucial requirements in an LNG facility, the thermal performance/conductivity of the insulation is one of the most important features designers should consider when selecting an insulation material. The thermal conductivity of the insulation will determine how thick the insulation needs to be to effectively limit heat gain to the system. The insulation material type and the insulation’s standard thicknesses will determine how many layers of insulation are needed to achieve the necessary thermal performance. For example,bJM’s polyisocyanurate insulation, TRYMER®, comes in thicknesses up to 3 in. and falls in the middle in terms of thermal performance when compared with other cryogenic insulations. By using TRYMER, the necessary thermal performance can be achieved in fewer layers than the least thermally conductive materials that come in thicknesses of 10 mm maximum. At the same time, it still offers a lower total thickness than the more thermally conductive cryogenic

September 2021

Given that the operating temperatures in LNG facilities are so incredibly low, ensuring water and water vapour do not infiltrate the system is critical. Liquid water is highly thermally conductive while frozen water expands, increasing the potential for damage to the tightly fitting insulation, jacketing, and vapour retarder, ultimately leading to large increases in heat gain into the LNG. For this reason, all insulations used in cryogenic applications require a properly installed vapour retarder (often more than one), even if the insulation is closed cell, such as TRYMER PIR or cellular glass.

The addition of vapour stops Vapour stops (also known as vapour dams) are the part of an insulation system constructed from vapour retarding joint sealant or mastic, usually reinforced with a coarse fibre mesh. They adhere to the pipe, go up the face of the insulation at a circumferential joint, and then attach to the primary vapour retarder on the outside surface of the insulation. The purpose of a vapour stop is to greatly reduce the movement of water and water vapour axially (in a direction lengthwise down the pipe) through the insulation system.

Entry of water and water vapour into a cold insulation system, especially a cryogenic insulation system, is a primary source of problems with the insulation system. It can greatly reduce the performance of the insulation, lead to excess condensation on the insulation system outer surface, contribute to corrosion of the underlying pipe or vessel, and, in particularly bad situations, lead to ice formation in and on the insulation system. Such ice formationbcan physically damage the insulation system, the pipe, or nearby gauges and equipment. Vapour stops are used at these types of locations for three specific reasons.

At the point where the insulation system terminates This point could be on a dead leg of pipe, on a vessel or equipment support leg that is insulated for some distance away from the primary vessel insulation, or on some sort of internal pipe support such as those used on vertical pipes where the support is insulated for some distance away from the primary pipe insulation. In all these cases, the insulation ends. This end point is a location where water and water vapour could readily enter the insulation system and travel through the insulation via various paths. A vapour stop is installed at this location to prevent, or at least greatly reduce, the movement of water through it and hence into the insulation system.

On either side of insulation system locations that are known problem areas for water intrusion One example of these problem areas is a valve. The valve stem or some part of the valve almost always protrudes through the insulation system, thus penetrating the vapour retarder. Installers take great care to seal the insulation system at this penetration location using sealants and caulks, but this seal is never as good as the vapour retarder on the rest of the insulation system and is subject to degradation from sunlight. If the seal is around an actual valve stem, when this stem is turned or moved, it will break the seal. Another example of a known problem area for water intrusion is a portion of the pipe system that requires repeated maintenance and so is covered with removable insulation to facilitate that maintenance. The vapour retarder on a removable insulation system is seldom very good, so it will more readily allow water and water vapour movement

through the removable insulation and into the insulation system.b In both of these examples, a vapour stop should be installed on either side of the problem area. Another way of viewing this sort of vapour stop is that it is a subset of the item raised in the first point. The main insulation system terminates on either side of the problem area, and a vapour stop is installed. Regardless, the purpose of vapour stops is to prevent water that enters the insulation system at the problem location from moving into the rest of the insulation system. The vapour stop isolates and limits the potential for damage caused by the water entering at such problem locations.

Periodically on a run of pipe as a protective measure Even in the absence of a known problem location, there is the possibility that the insulation system could be damaged or installed improperly. Either of these scenarios could allow water or water vapour to enter the system. Vapour stops are located periodically along a run of pipe to limit the extent of the water movement in such a case. The purpose of this vapour stop location is to isolate the damage from water entry to a smaller portion of the insulation system. If the system can be shut down and the pipe allowed to warm, this reduces the amount of the insulation system that must be repaired. If repairs are not possible due to the undesirability of turning off the system and allowing it to warm, then periodic vapour stops can limit the increase in condensation and heat gain to only a small portion of the total pipe length. Bear in mind that in this case, there is no single correct spacing distance for vapour stops on a run of pipe. This spacing depends on many factors including quality/cost of the original insulation system design, quality/cost of the installation, and frequency of inspection and maintenance. Typical spacing for vapour stops on a run of pipe would range from every 20 ft to every 100 ft.

Summary It is important to consider each of these characteristics as an LNG insulation system is being designed to help ensure that the system has a long service life. There are numerous examples of LNG facilities around the world with properly installed PIR insulation that have been functioning successfully for more than 20 years.

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Unlocking North America’s Energy Potential

David Gomez, Alberto Ramos, and Daniel Rivera, SacyrFluor, Spain, detail a case study of an LNG invasion phenomenon in carbon steel pipes, using dynamic simulation to study the kinetics.

fter open rack vaporisers (ORV), an increase in fluid temperature allows for the pipe material to be changed from stainless steel (SS) to carbon steel (CS). Industry standards recommend performing a transient analysis to check the risk of cold propagation on piping downstream from the vaporiser. In the LNG terminal case of the study, the pipe specification break was very close to the equipment outlet. In order to verify the existing system, SacyrFluor (part of the Sacyr Group) studied the kinetics of an LNG invasion phenomenon in case of seawater failure in the ORVs by using a dynamic simulation. The dynamic simulation results were used to check the validity of the existing LNG terminal protections and, in case of inadequacy, to recommend the required modifications.

Introduction The EN1473 standard (Installation and equipment for LNG design of onshore installations) states in section 8.1.2 Materials of Vaporisation of LNG, that “a transient analysis shall be performed in order to check the risk of cold propagation on piping downstream the vaporiser.” Additionally, in section E.2.6. Control/Safety of Specific Requirements for LNG Vaporisers, it states that “in case of low gas temperature” “the vaporiser shall be automatically

isolated.” “Valve closure time should be set to prevent cold temperature extending over limits defined by thermal transient analysis.” SacyrFluor was requested to perform this thermal transient analysis at an existing European LNG terminal. By using a dynamic process simulator which evaluates the kinetics of an LNG invasion phenomenon in ORVs in case of seawater failure, SacyrFluor checked the validity of the existing interlocks and recommended modifications if the existing interlocks were deemed to be inadequate.

Methodology Dynamic simulation was performed with Aspen Hysys Dynamics v11. The thermodynamic package Peng Robinson with Lee-Kesler for enthalpy has been selected because, based on SacyrFluor’s experience in previous LNG projects, this was the option that best matched the results with field data. ORV inlet conditions corresponded to high-pressure LNG header conditions. No change over time was considered in these conditions. Even when there was no high-pressure LNG flow as a result of the presence of protection, the pressure was assumed to remain constant in the pipes. Outlet conditions corresponded to the NG header. Pressure was

Figure 1. The Hysys model created for this dynamic simulation. z As a result of the heat transfer reduction in ORVs, vaporisation is stopped. Therefore, liquid LNG passes through the ORV without changing its liquid state. The tube inside heat transfer was calculated considering the forced convection of liquid.

Figure 2. The ORV’s operating conditions profile over time in case of a seawater failure and without any protective measure.

z Once the interlocks are triggered, the LNG flow is stopped gradually following a ramp. The duration of the ramp corresponds with the final element action – i.e. the closure time of the valve (in case it acts on the feed valve), or the stopping time of the pumps due to the inertia (in case it acts on the high-pressure pumps). LNG is retained in the ORV and the temperature starts to increase due to the heat exchanged with the environment. When LNG reaches the critical temperature, supercritical conditions develop, with the LNG behaving more like a gas than a liquid. The tube’s inside heat transfer is reduced. Tube inside heat transfer was calculated considering this phenomenon. z The heat transfer in pipes downstream of the ORVs were calculated by Hysys according to the properties and conditions of the fluid inside them. A detailed model has been considered, taking into account the conduction of the pipe and inside and outside convection.

Figure 3. The ORV operating conditions profile over time in case of a seawater failure, and with an interlock closing a pneumatic on/off valve in the ORV inlet using a temperature transmitter located in the ORV outlet. considered constant over time, but the temperature varied as the system progressed as a consequence of the upset. In the dynamic simulation, the upset starts with the failure of seawater when it stops acting as the heating media and is replaced by natural draft with air. At this time the following actions were considered: z Air flow is reduced from the required to get the normal duty to a reduced flow resulting from the natural draft. Natural draft calculations were undertaken in order to estimate an air velocity. z The tube outside heat transfer coefficient of ORVs is reduced to represent natural draft with air. The tube orientation was considered, since vertical tubes present a lower coefficient than horizontal ones.

September 2021

The condition that an interlock has to comply with to be considered adequate for an LNG invasion scenario in case of seawater failure, is to prevent any carbon steel section of the NG header outside ORVs from cooling down below its design temperature. In particular, the inlet wall temperature of the header at the break of stainless steel and carbon steel does not have to lower from -20˚C.

Results The first working step was to simulate the seawater failure scenario without any protective measure. As expected, it was observed that once the seawater fails, evaporation stops and ORV outlet temperatures and wall temperature lowers quickly at the stainless steel-carbon steel (SS-CS) break. Pipe material operating limits are reached fast. The simulation confirmed that the installation of protective measures is required. To properly design an interlock that protects the system, actions to be implemented and triggering actions were evaluated using the dynamic simulation. The following different interlock actions were evaluated and are outlined below.

Stop of primary pumps In the terminal case of the study, stopping the primary pumps does not stop the flow to ORVs in a direct way nor

immediately. The stop of the LNG flow to ORVs is created indirectly after the loss of level in the recondenser which feeds LNG to the secondary pumps. Consequently, although LNG flow is stopped, cold LNG is retained inside the header and the cool down of the header continues. The minimum design temperature for carbon steel is still reached at the SS-CS break; therefore, this action is not an effective measure to protect this scenario.

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Stop of high-pressure pumps Stopping high-pressure pumps directly halts the LNG flow to the ORV. After the response time of the pump relay, LNG flow decreases gradually because of the remaining pump inertia. This effect was considered by SacyrFluor in the dynamic simulation. Results concluded that this interlock action was valid to protect the system.

Close of a motorised valve in the ORV inlet

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The last action evaluated to prevent the LNG invasion phenomenon in case of seawater failure was the closure of a pneumatic on/off valve. This type of valve closes much faster than motorised valves. Closing time was determined by a surge analysis performed in parallel with this study. This ensured that valve closure was not going to create water hammer issues in the high-pressure LNG system. LNG flow decreases gradually with valve closing percentage. Results concluded that this interlock effect was valid to protect the system. To trigger the interlock, two different process variables were evaluated: level in the ORV upper basin and ORV outlet temperature.

Close of a pneumatic on/off valve in the ORV inlet

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An alternative design evaluated was to consider the closure of a motorised valve in the ORV inlet. A standard motorised valve behaviour was dynamically simulated. LNG flow decreases gradually with valve closing percentage. By the simulation, it was observed that the closing time was too large and consequently does not have any effect in the protection. Carbon steel’s minimum design temperature is still reached at the SS-CS break; therefore, this action is not an effective measure to protect this scenario.

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Activation by level in the ORV upper basin The LNG terminal in the study has an ORV design with an upper basin where level is measured. The use of this instrument was evaluated to trigger the interlock to protect ORV downstream piping. In the case of activation by level in the upper basins, the following assumptions were considered:

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z Once the seawater flow is stopped, the ORVs continue their normal operation with the remaining seawater at the upper basin. z Evaporation is stopped when seawater liquid in the upper basin reaches the low-level alarm. This moment will be considered the start of the upset. Dynamic simulation results show that the protection barrier is activated sooner than when temperature

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transmitters are used. However, activation of the protection barrier by temperature is preferred vs by level, since in case of a scenario where there is a big enough level of seawater in the upper basins but no seawater falls down around the tube, this incident is not detected by the level instrument. This scenario is possible when dust prevents seawater from flowing properly around the tubes.

Activation by ORV outlet temperature Dynamic simulation proved that ORV outlet temperature is an effective process measurement to identify the LNG invasion phenomenon in case of seawater failure. To properly design an interlock using temperature transmitters, location and set point should be determined. z Temperature transmitter location: This is important since transmitters will not provide protection if they are located too far from the SS-CS break. Temperature sensors have to be installed just at the outlet of each ORV in order to separate the triggering temperature from the normal operating temperature as much as possible. Additionally, the final location of these new temperature sensors has to be defined, considering that they have to be accessible for maintenance. z Temperature set point: To determine the set temperature, enough difference with normal operation has to be kept to avoid spurious activation. On the other hand, the temperature set point has to be low enough to avoid reaching the material limits, -20˚C at the wall inlet SS-CS break. Increasing the

set temperature does not represent a significant improvement in the time of activation of the protection barrier. In the dynamic simulator, the procedure to select the location and set point of the protection barrier was carried out first to find out at what precise moment the barrier has to be activated in order to reach -20˚C at the wall inlet temperature at the SS-CS break. This generated a fluid temperature profile along the length of the pipe. This curve determined the maximum temperature set point of the barrier at any point of the header. The final element considered was the time to perform the designed action, pump stop, or valve closing. For specific locations in the pipe, with the use of the dynamic simulation, the required temperature set point was determined to ensure the temperature will not go below -20˚C at pipe specification break.

Conclusion By using a dynamic simulation to study the kinetics of an LNG invasion phenomenon in case of seawater failure in ORVs, SacyrFluor was able to design protective measures to prevent a cold temperature extending over the piping material limits. Temperature transmitters located at calculated positions and different set points were used to trigger two different interlocks that stop high-pressure pumps and close a pneumatic on/off valve in the ORV inlet, so the wall temperature of the header at the break of stainless steel and carbon steel never lowers from -20˚C.

Gastech 2021 preview

LNG Industry previews a selection of companies that will be exhibiting at this year’s Gastech in Dubai, UAE, on 21 - 23 September 2021. Visit LNG Industry at Booth 2F79.

AIR PRODUCTS – STAND S2E68

ir Products is paving the way for a sustainable future. In support of the LNG industry, Air Products provides process technology and key equipment for the natural gas liquefaction process for large export plants, small and mid-sized LNG plants, floating LNG plants, and LNG peak shavers. As a world leader, Air Products’ proven liquefaction

systems are prized for their reliability, high efficiency, and operational flexibility. The company's experience extends from plants producing less than 100 tpd LNG to the largest baseload plants in the world, producing approximately 10bmillionbtpy. For over 50 years, Air Products has manufactured LNG heat exchangers, which currently operate in over 100 LNG trains in 20 countries worldwide. To complement its proprietary LNG technology, Air Products also provides turbomachinery as well as nitrogen and natural gas dehydration membrane systems for offshore platforms, membrane nitrogen generators for LNG carriers, and land-based membrane and cryogenic nitrogen systems for LNG import terminals and baseload LNG plants. Air Products continually focuses on meeting the energy environmental challenges today and into the future. By developing innovative solutions for carbon capture from fossil fuel hydrogen and producing carbon-free hydrogen from renewable energy, Air Products is leading the way to a cleaner energy future. Air Products. The company’s multicomponent refrigerant (MCR®) main Stop by the company’s Booth S2E68 at cryogenic heat exchanger ready for shipment. Gastech to learn more.

ATLAS COPCO GAS AND PROCESS – STAND S2C68

reat ideas transform industries. Atlas Copco Gas and Process helps customers prepare for tomorrow by designing, building, and servicing turbocompressors, gas screw compressors, turboexpanders, and centrifugal pumps for the hydrocarbon processing, power generation (conventional and renewable), and industrial gases industries. The company’s passionate people are dedicated to

BLACK & VEATCH – STAND S1A90

lack & Veatch provides global engineering, procurement, and construction with a focus on LNG, FLNG, gas processing, hydrogen, biofuels, ammonia, fertilizers, chemicals, and carbon capture. The company implements many technologies across the industry to provide clients

Black & Veatch. The company’s modularised PRICO® LNG liquefaction process.

September 2021

helping customers handle today’s pressures while creating a sustainable future. Atlas Copco Gas and Process is a division of the Compressor Technique business area, headquartered in Cologne, Germany, with additional production centres in North America, China, India, and Korea. Please visit Booth S2C68 at this year’s Gastech conference.

the best solution and best value, including implementation of its patented PRICO® processes for LNG liquefaction and gas processing. The team is experienced in clean energy and green fuels and is helping LNG clients now with decarbonisation projects. Black & Veatch supports a full range of project types from full scope implementation of large greenfield projects to smaller brownfield projects, including facility integration projects, outside the battery limit (OSBL) scope, facility upgrades, electrical upgrades, and utility system projects. The company works across the entire project lifecycle, allowing it to deliver efficient and effective solutions tailored to its clients’ needs. The company can help with strategy, project feasibility, technical due diligence, technology selection, permitting, FEED, detailed engineering, programme management, procurement, construction, construction management, start-up, and plant improvements. With more than 100 global offices, Black & Veatch is positioned to apply its expertise to accomplish customer goals. Visit the company during the event at Booth S1A90.

Level. Switching. Pressure. Reliable under extreme operating conditions VEGA measurement technology performs consistently under extreme process conditions – at cryogenic temperatures as well as under high pressures. Thanks to our decades of experience we are well acquainted with the requirements of the most demanding industries. To ensure absolutely reliable level, switching and pressure measurement, we combine high-tech materials with the latest instrumentation technologies.

Please visit us at Gastech booth S1A77

www.vega.com

BURCKHARDT COMPRESSION – STAND S1C76

ecause of changing IMO regulations regarding sulfur content of marine diesel, and the growing awareness for reducing the global carbon footprint, LNG becomes the preferred alternative fuel for merchant ships as well as cruise ships. The occurring boil-off gas (BOG) must be managed to protect the structural integrity of the onboard gas tanks. Burckhardt Compression offers a variety of compressor solutions for BOG handling and fuel gas. The company’s compressors have been specifically designed for various marine BOG applications such as injection into the ship’s

CHART INDUSTRIES – STAND 3D91

ill Evanko, President & CEO, Chart Industries: “Chart is proud to work alongside others creating our shared goal of advancing natural gas and hydrogen as key contributors to a lower carbon, sustainable energy future.” At the cornerstone of Chart’s business is a broad portfolio of complementary products, including specialty heat exchangers and cryogenic storage tanks. It is the integration of these products to deliver highly engineered solutions, used from the beginning to the end in the liquid gas supply chain that makes Chart unique. The company is a key player in the development of small scale LNG and the associated infrastructure liquefying

propulsion engine as well as supply of the onboard reliquefaction system and/or gen-sets. In addition, they can be operated in parallel to the pump vaporiser unit. Burckhardt Compression’s Marine Compressor systems each offers a set of unique benefits in order to fit best to the customer’s requirements. In combination with Burckhardt Compression’s global service network with Service Centres close to its customers, the company offers a complete portfolio of Marine Compressor systems and services. Visit Burckhardt Compression at Gastech Booth S1C76 for more information.

natural gas, bringing power to off-grid locations and providing an alternative transport fuel for trucks, ships, and even railway locomotives. Its deep cryogenic expertise and proven track record makes Chart the ideal project partner to deliver hydrogen as a secure, clean, safe, and affordable alternative to fossil fuels. Chart has engineering and manufacturing across the US, Europe, China, and India and the company provides global support throughout the product lifecycle. Chart celebrates its diversity and is committed to ensuring that everyone in its workplace has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

CHENIERE ENERGY, INC.

Cheniere. The company’s Corpus Christi liquefaction facility in March 2021.

ELLIOTT GROUP – STAND S1F88

or more than 100 years, companies around the world have chosen Elliott for the design, manufacture, and service of their critical turbomachinery. Primary products include centrifugal compressors, steam turbines, power recovery expanders, cryogenic pumps, and expanders, as well as lubrication, sealing, and control systems for rotating equipment. In addition to its full line of rotating equipment, Elliott offers complete global service packages including parts, repairs, service engineering, training, and customised research. Elliott’s Cryodynamic Products business is a recognised

September 2021

heniere Energy, Inc. is an international energy company and the leading exporter of US LNG. The company provides clean, secure, and affordable energy to the world, while responsibly delivering a reliable source of LNG, in a safe and rewarding work environment. It purchases natural gas from the robust US market, processes the natural gas into LNG, and offers its customers the option to load LNG onto their vessels at its terminals in the US Gulf Coast, or delivers the LNG to regasification facilities around the world. Cheniere is the second largest LNG operator in the world. Visit the company’s booth at Gastech this year in Dubai.

global leader for Cryodynamics® submerged electric pumps and expanders in liquefied gas applications. Cryodynamic Products provides onshore and marine solutions for LNG liquefaction, transport, storage, fuelling, bunkering, and regasification. For nearly 50 years, Cryodynamic Products has delivered continuous advances in equipment design and technology, including: the development of the first submerged cryogenic expander, the first two-phase expander; the first two-phase tandem installation, and the first floating application for cryogenic expanders.

Transforming the energy industry one idea at a time. Visit our booth S2C68 and discover the latest technology in our compressors, expanders and pumps solutions for the energy challenges of today and tomorrow.

September 21st-23rd DWTC, Dubai

With our experience and expertise, we are a leading supplier of critical rotating machinery for both the natural gas value chain as well as the emerging, new energy fields. We oﬀer better CAPEX, OPEX, higher eﬃciency / lower power with same or higher reliability, availability and safety.

For further information please contact atlascopco.gap.marketing@atlascopco.com

atlascopco-gap.com

ENDRESS+HAUSER – STAND S3A12

onverting natural gas to LNG in a liquefaction plant typically involves four main processes with critical measurement points: pretreatment, acid gas removal and

Endress + Hauser. Endress+Hauser is there for customers throughout the entire plant lifecycle.

EXXONMOBIL

he Power Play Awards were developed by leading women from ExxonMobil to help bring together and recognise remarkable professionals in the LNG industry. What began in 2016 as a one-off event at LNG18, quickly

ExxonMobil. Inaugural Power Play Award winners Phaedra Deckart, Julie Mayo, and Jocelyne Machevo show off their trophies at the ceremony in 2019.

GABADI – STAND 2E81

ounded in Narón, Spain, in 1989, Gabadi specialises in the installation of GAZTRANSPORT & TECHNIGAZ (GTT)’s patented LNG-containment membrane systems installation (Mark and NO). Gabadi was the first outsourcing company to obtain technical agreements with GTT both for LNG membrane tanks maintenance and new-building (LNG fuel, small scale, LNG carrier, bunkering, GST, etc.) and has performed projects in more than 15 countries worldwide. Gabadi was the first outfitter to build an LNG-like fuel vessel with a membrane system. The CMA 22 700bTEU of nine container carriers’ series was manufactured at China State Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd (CSSC) shipyards,

September 2021

dehydration, fractionation to remove heavy hydrocarbons, and liquefaction. Each of these operations requires reliable measurement and tight process control to ensure the continuous uninterrupted operation needed for on-time loading and shipment of LNG. Accurate, reliable measurement of critical process parameters set the basis for safe and efficient operations across the gas value chain. Endress+Hauser’s broad range of best-fit instruments and solutions reduces complexities and provides real-time data and the process control needed to resolve these challenges. The company’s innovative field instrumentation and a vast network of global and local experts supports the need for continuous uninterrupted operation of LNG processing operations with precise, reliable process control and automation from gas pre-treatment to liquefaction. Being able to rely on Endress+Hauser as a single supplier and partner for all needs further simplifies project management. Endress+Hauser is there for customers throughout the entire plant lifecycle. Visit the company at Booth S3A12, Sheikh Saeed Hall 3.

became a successful series of events and awards taking place all over the world, succeeding in bringing many women together to collaborate and innovate across the system of the LNG value chain whilst shining a light on how they can make a difference in this business. In its third official year, the awards programme continues to recognise the those making a difference in the LNG industry. This year’s programme – focused on outstanding professionals who deliver success and results while being a positive, resilient presence within the LNG community – is made up of four categories: The Rising Star Award, The Ambassador Award, The Pioneer Award, and the Conqueror Award. The 2021 awards programme received registered interest from 139 companies across 36 countries, and 67 nominations were submitted for judging. Submissions were evaluated and scored by 12 experts from across the LNG value chain, and community voting helped determine the winners. Winners will be announced during Gastech in Dubai in September 2021.

provided that four out of the nine were built at the shipyard in Shanghai, Jiangnan Shipyard (Group). All the vessels of the series have an LNG storage tank for the propulsion of 18b600bm3. The system, which was selected for the containment of this gas in the fuel tanks at a low temperature, is the MARKIII system designed by GTT. This tank, with corrugate shapes in its interior, may bear the temperature, due to the different insulating materials which are inside its 270bm-wide walls. Currently, Gabadi is involved in other three 15b000 TEUs vessels and in the assembly of the short baseline near detector cold membrane cryostat at Fermilab.

A smarter perspective on a low carbon future

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Meet us at stand S2B59

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Proven design esign for reliabilityy and safety

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KARPOWERSHIP – SPEAKER

arpowership is a member of the Karadeniz Energy Group, a pioneer of energy solutions on an international scale as the sole owner, operator, and builder of the world’s first powership (floating power plants) fleet. With decades of experience, Karpowership

Karpowership. The Osman Khan Powership.

LLOYD’S REGISTER – STAND S2A56

loyd’s Register is a global professional services organisation specialising in engineering and technology solutions. Its experts advise and support clients to improve the safety and performance of complex projects, supply chains, and critical infrastructure. The company helps to keep the world moving safely, efficiently, and sustainably. Lloyd’s Register is the world’s first marine classification society, created more than 260 years ago to improve the

NEUMAN & ESSER GROUP

he NEUMAN & ESSER GROUP (NEA), founded in 1830 in Aachen, Germany is a leading manufacturer of compressor solutions including piston compressors and high-pressure diaphragm compressors, as well as sealing elements for oscillating and rotating systems. NEA offers comprehensive services for NEA brand and 13 OEM legacies. The products serve all major applications in the oil and gas markets, chemicals and petrochemicals industries, food and beverages, renewable energy, and H2 economy, including H2 mobility. To position as a solution provider with upstream and downstream processes along the H2 value chain, NEA founded the NEA ENERGY division. This currently comprises

operates 30bpowerships in 11 countries with a total installed capacity exceeding 5 GW. Karpowership provides a flexible, efficient, and fully integrated ‘plug and play’ solution that is capable of offering base load, mid-merit, or peak shaving electricity generation capacity to a host country’s grid. Karpowership serves as a one-stop-shop for LNG-to-power solutions, a single source delivering all aspects of the value chain. Powerships are equipped to allow not only the use of piped gas but are also able to meet immediate LNG-topower demand when combined with a FSRU. FSRUs are floating LNG import terminals capable of both storing and regasifying large volumes of LNG. Connected to powerships, FSRUs can store between 125 000 to 260 000 m3 of LNG and enable an immediate connection to the LNG supply chain without the costly and lengthy process of investment in land-based infrastructure. With this, Karpowership can deliver accessible, affordable, and adaptable power to all those who need it.

safety of ships. Now its technical expertise is offered in more than 70 countries, by more than 6000 employees. The surplus the company generates funds its shareholder, Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a global charity whose mission is to enhance the safety of life and property. The company’s independence means it provides reliable, impartial, and informed advice. All of this helps Lloyd’s Register stand by the purpose that drives it every single day; working together for a safer world.

five companies: NEA GREEN helps customers with the decarbonisation of their energy or industrial systems, and on decentralised applications. ARCANUM is a solution provider for the entire process chain from the biogas plant through biogas processing to grid feed-in, including the further processing of biomethane to green hydrogen. HYTRON is NEA’s solution provider in the fields of engineering and system integration for PEM and alkaline electrolysers as well as natural gas and ethanol reformers. Alternative Energy Driven Solutions (AE DS) is a 50% stake of NEA, developing mobility concepts based on a CO2-neutral charging and supply infrastructure.

NIKKISO - CLEAN ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL GASES GROUP – STAND 2C61

ow unified as Nikkiso’s Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group, Cryogenic Industries (Cosmodyne, ACD, Cryoquip) and Nikkiso Cryo has consolidated its resources and global assets to lead the change to a healthier world. The Group is proud to be a participant in Gastechb2021. With over 50 years’ experience as a leading provider of cryogenic equipment including pumps, heat exchangers, turboexpanders, and process plants, the Group provides innovative equipment and solutions in liquid gases and beyond. Through its five functional units, the Group provides an extensive line of engineering, equipment, and service for the clean energy and industrial gases industries.

September 2021

The pumps unit (ACD LLC and Nikkiso Cryo, Inc.) is a leading manufacturer of a diverse line of cryogenic pumps – large to small. The Process Systems unit (Cosmodyne, LLC) is a leading provider of customised small to mid scale natural gas (LNG) facilities for alternative fuels, peak shaving, and marine applications. The Heat Exchangers unit (Cryoquip,bLLC) provides expertise in engineering, manufacturing, and design solutions of a diversified line of cryogenic vaporising systems and industrial gas equipment. The new Integrated Cryogenic Solutions unit offers the convenience of combined solutions for its customers. All products have full support from the Cryogenic Services unit.

Leading industry transformation through purposeful discussions with global industry leaders. Be part of the conversation.

23WPCHOUSTON.COM DECEMBER 5-9, 2021 | HOUSTON, USA

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OWENS CORNING – STAND 3A115

rusted on a variety of applications, FOAMGLAS® cellular glass insulation systems offer long-term thermal performance and protection.

Owens Corning. For decades, FOAMGLAS® cellular glass insulation has been known for its 100% closed-cell structure.

REGO – STAND S3A39

egO designs, manufactures, and tests a comprehensive portfolio of gas and liquid pressure controls, pressure regulating products, and pressure relief devices, for vehicle cylinders, bulk storage tanks, fuel dispensers, and

RegO. For more information, visit the company at Gastech.

SANDVIK MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY – STAND 4C160

re you battling cryogenic conditions and corrosive seawater – two of the biggest challenges when processing LNG and natural gas offshore? Did you know pitting and crevice corrosion in shell-and-tube parts of the vaporiser exposed to seawater can lead to fouling and maintenance issues? To avoid these issues, Sandvik developed Sanicro® 23 and Sanicro® 35, two super-austenitic seamless stainless steel grades. Corrosion resistant, weldable, and economical, these grades provide cost-effective and safe alternatives for direct-seawater cooling, compared to standard stainless tube and some nickel-alloy grades. Sandvik knows that selecting the best material for an

September 2021

FOAMGLAS insulation is non-combustible, non-absorbent, impermeable to moisture, and has high compressive strength. From cryogenic to above ambient temperatures, these properties help provide superior performance for process piping and equipment, storage tanks, spheres, LNG pool fire suppression, cryogenic spill protection, and more. A full line of compatible accessories such as sealants, adhesives, jacketings, and more are available. To support engineers, specifiers, facility managers, and installers, the FOAMGLAS Technical Services Team can provide customers with insulation system specification details, energy analysis reporting, passive fire protection modeling, thermal imaging surveys, and education/training both on and off the jobsite. Visit Owens Corning at Booth 3A115 at Gastech to learn more and see product displays featuring the FOAMGLAS PFS™ (Pool Fire Suppression) System and FOAMGLAS Insulation for Passive Fire Protection.

ancillary equipment. The company’s products are sold worldwide under the RegO®, Goddard®, Superior Products®, and Macro® brand names, and are recognised world-wide for their innovative design, superior performance, and long service life. Inspired by the company’s founder, Charles Bastian, who invented the carbon dioxide cylinder valve in 1888, and founded RegO (Regulator + Oxygen) in 1918, this spirit of innovation continues to guide the team at RegO and results in the development of new performance milestones and products every year. The long-term partnerships with OEM customers and materials suppliers demonstrates the company's commitment to value-based relationships. From RegO’s design, manufacturing, and product testing facilities in North Carolina, US, the company’s products are found in a wide range of markets including: health care, aerospace, transportation, electronics, chemicals, energy, agriculture, food and beverage, industrial gas and liquids, as well as alternative and renewable fuels such as LPG, LNG, and hydrogen. See RegO’s new innovations at Booth S3A39 at Gastech 21 - 23 September at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

application is not an easy process and can be a tricky balancing act for specifiers. The company’s technical experts will be available at Gastech throughout the event to discuss the issues that are important to an application and answer any technical questions or queries from meeting specific application requirements to solving corrosion issues that customers may be experiencing. Visitors to booth number 4C160 will have the opportunity to view advanced tubing materials for LNG vaporisers and discuss corrosion issues with Sandvik’s technical experts face to face. Let’s solve LNG corrosion together.

Our people drive us forward Building a world class team to help achieve our vision to be the premier LNG company in North America.

For construction updates, visit: GoldenPassLNG.com

SEMPRA INFRASTRUCTURE – STAND 2E71

empra Infrastructure delivers energy with purpose. Through the strength of its North American assets, the company is dedicated to expanding the global use of LNG and net-zero solutions, clean power, and modernised energy networks. Sempra Infrastructure develops, builds, operates, and invests in the infrastructure critical to meet the world’s energy and climate needs. The company’s LNG facilities and development projects on the Pacific and Gulf Coasts of North America serve the energy diversification and energy transition ambitions of its customers. Sempra uses innovation to improve all aspects of

TECHNIP ENERGIES – STAND S1A79

echnip Energies is a leading engineering and technology company for the energy transition, with leadership positions in LNG, hydrogen, and ethylene as well as growing market positions in blue and green hydrogen, sustainable chemistry, and CO2 management. The company benefits from its robust project delivery model

its business and is advancing next generation technologies like carbon sequestration and clean hydrogen. With a focus on safe and reliable integration into North America’s power grids, the company operates over 1000 MW of renewables projects with a development pipeline of 3 GW of US-Mexico crossborder solar, wind, and battery storage projects. Sempra Infrastructure is a leader in North American energy network infrastructure with 1850 miles of natural gas transportation pipelines and a leading refined products terminal network that includes the development of 30% of new storage capacity in Mexico.

supported by extensive technology, products, and services offering. Operating in 34 countries, the company’s 15 000 people are fully committed to bringing client’s innovative projects to life, breaking boundaries to accelerate the energy transition for a better tomorrow.

Technip Energies. Neste Biofuels refinery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

TGE GAS ENGINEERING – STAND 1D31

GE Gas Engineering is a worldwide leader in the storage and handling of liquefied gases. The company provides a comprehensive range of products and services for the energy, LNG, and petrochemical industries. TGE is active worldwide and maintains a local presence in several strategic locations throughout Europe and Asia. TGE employs over 350 highly qualified, experienced

TGE Gas Engineering. LNG terminal Dapeng, P.R. China.

September 2021

engineers and specialists around the globe. They provide the company's partners with engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning, contracting, project management, and tank design services throughout all phases of a project. For TGE, construction begins with the unloading of materials on the site and ends after the no-load run tests of the installed equipment and systems with the commissioning. The company’s construction experts handle everything in between – management, co-ordination, and supervision as well as subcontracting, fabrication, expediting, and inspection. TGE’s EPC service for storage tanks utilises state-of-the-art design tools and comprehensive expertise in the design of liquefied gas storage tanks. The tank concepts the company provides include cryogenic storage tanks for import, export, buffer or distribution, earth-covered tanks for pressurised liquefied gases, and horizontal bullet tanks and spheres for pressurised or semi-pressurised storage. TGE updates plants with state-of-the-art technology, ensuring they comply with all regulations and standards while minimising operational impact. In an exclusive co-operation with its sister company CIMC Sinopacific Offshore Engineering, TGE offers turnkey solutions for fuel gas supply systems for various applications.

EXTEND THE LIFE OF YOUR LNG VAPORIZERS Cryogenic conditions and corrosive seawater – two of the biggest challenges when PROCESSING ,.' AND NATURAL GAS OǅSHORE 0ITTING AND CREVICE CORROSION IN SHELL AND TUBE parts of the vaporizer exposed to seawater can lead to fouling and maintenance issues. 4O AVOID THIS 3ANDVIK DEVELOPED 3ANICROl AND 3ANICROl TWO NEW SUPER AUSTENITIC (highly alloyed) seamless stainless steel grades. Corrosion resistant, weldable and ECONOMICAL THEY PROVIDE COST EFFECTIVE AND SAFE ALTERNATIVES FOR DIRECT SEAWATER COOLING COMPARED TO STANDARD STAINLESS TUBE AND SOME NICKEL ALLOY GRADES ,ETśS TALK LNG tube at Gastech in Dubai, Booth 4C160 in Hall 4, September 21–23, 2021. FIRST REFERENCE OF SANDVIK’S NEW LNG GRADE NOW INSTALLED!

MATERIALS.SANDVIK

UNIPER – STAND 3E121

niper is an international energy company with around 12 000 employees in more than 40 countries. The company plans to make its power generation CO2neutral in Europe by 2035. With approximately 35 GW of installed generation capacity, Uniper is among the largest global power generators. Its main activities include power generation in Europe and Russia as well as global energy trading, including a diversified gas portfolio that makes Uniper one of Europe’s leading gas companies. In 2020, Uniper had a gas turnover of more than 220bbillionbm3. Uniper is also a reliable partner for

VEGA – STAND S1A77

nnovative level and pressure instrumentation, the combination of highest safety and efficiency with easy operability: this is what VEGA stands for. For more than

VEGA. Innovative VEGA level sensors for the measurement of difficult media under challenging process conditions.

WINGD – STAND S2B59

inGD is a leading developer of low-speed engines used for propulsion power in merchant shipping. Its role within the industry began over 120 years ago, since

WinGD.WinGD 12X92DF holds the world record for the most powerful Otto-cycle engine ever built.

September 2021

municipalities, public utilities, and industrial companies for developing and implementing innovative, CO2-reducing solutions on their way to decarbonising their activities. As a pioneer in the field of hydrogen, Uniper has set itself the target of operating worldwide along the entire value chain in the future and implementing projects that will make hydrogen the mainstay of the future energy supply. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany and is currently the third-largest listed German utility. Together with its main shareholder Fortum, Uniper is also the third-largest producer of CO2-free energy in Europe.

60byears, the company has been involved in the measurement of difficult media under challenging process conditions. VEGA is right at home wherever intelligent sensors with high functionality and high-quality materials are needed for efficient processes. The product portfolio includes sensors for measurement of level, point level and pressure, as well as interface and density. An additional plus is the integrated self-monitoring system in the sensors that constantly provides information about the sensor status and enables preventive maintenance before faults or breakdowns occur. The key to greater safety, higher availability, and maximum reliability lies in the selection of the right technology, the ideal configuration, and the correct set-up and commissioning of the sensors. Certain applications may be more suitable for radar sensors, whereas others for pressure transmitters, and in some cases a simple point level detector may be sufficient. What about VEGA in your next project? Come and visit the company at Booth S1A77. The team will be happy to advise.

its inception as the Sulzer Diesel Engine business in 1893, leading through innovation and progress. Rooted in the foundation of its long history, WinGD is committed to powering transformation for a sustainable future. The company is pushing engineering boundaries to provide safe, sustainable, and reliable propulsion solutions with future-fuel flexibility. Supported by the most advanced technology in emissions reduction, digitalisation, and fuel efficiency, WinGD’s growing portfolio offers the right choice for today, and the future. Through integrated energy management and advanced data analytics, engine technology today extends far beyond simple ship propulsion. Full system integration is the key to reducing emissions, optimising vessel performance, and reducing operational expenditure. WinGD technology seamlessly bridges the gap between complex engineering and smart, reliable execution. These are unprecedented times, where collaborations are the key to forging a strong path ahead. Combining expertise strengthens the collective outlook, ensuring that the very best minds are unified in the approach. WinGD has joined together with industry leaders, building the path to a decarbonised future. Visit the company at Gastech, Dubai, at Booth S2B59.

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ACME Cryogenics

MIB Italiana S.P.A.

Air Products

NEUMAN & ESSER

Aragon

NIKKISO

Atlas Copco

OLT Offshore LNG Toscana

BASF SE

Optimized Gas Treating

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement

Owens Corning

Black & Veatch

Quietflex Manufacturing

Burckhardt Compression

PETROLIAM NASIONAL BERHAD (PETRONAS)

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RegO

Cheniere Energy, Inc.

IFC

REMBE GmbH

Compressor Controls Corporation (CCC)

Sacyr

ConocoPhillips

SANDVIK

Corban Energy Group

Sempra LNG

Eilbeck Cranes

Technip Energies

Endress & Hauser

Tellurian Inc.

Temati

Energy Capital Vietnam (ECV)

OBC

OFC, 80

Gabadi

TGE Gas Enginering

Gas & Heat S.p.a

TGE Marine Gas Engineering

Golden Pass LNG

ValvTechnologies

IRI / The International Marshall Islands Registry

VEGA Grieshaber KG

Jotun A/S

WinGD

Linde Engineering

23rd World Petroleum Congress

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LNG Industry is audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). An audit certificate is available on request from our sales department.

...ON ASIA

15FACTS

S&P is predicting that gas demand will grow to 430 billion m3 in 2025

Pakistan is predicted to import 25 million tpy of LNG by 2040

in China

China is generally expected to overtake Japan this year as the largest market for LNG cargoes

China is expected to add 17 million t of LNG receiving capacity in 2021

First Gen has partnered with Tokyo Gas to develop a ﬂoating LNG terminal in Batangas, the Philippines There could be as many as 17 different LNG terminal proposals in Vietnam

Pandas need to eat approximately 26 - 84 lb of bamboo every day

In January, Indian spot buyers were fully exposed to high spot prices for February deliveries, which reached US$32.494/million Btu

The Taj Mahal in India is 73 m tall

In the last 12 months, most of the Japanese buyers have been buying spot cargoes of green LNG from suppliers such as Shell, Total, and bp

People’s Republic of China won a total of 88 medals at the Tokyo Olympics this year

Ha Long Bay has over 1600 islands and islets

There are predictions that Bangladesh will move from importing 4.1 million t of LNG in 2020 to 21.2 million tpy by 2030 and 30.8 million tpy by 2040

The Institute of Energy Economics Japan has estimated that the country could see an increase in LNG demand of up to 22 million tpy by 2030

Records of the cherry blossom season in Kyoto date back to 812 AD

100

September 2021

Having issues with your Molecular Sieve Žƌ ĞŚǇĚƌĂƟŽŶ ^ǇƐƚĞŵƐ͍ ĞƌŽ >ĞĂŬĂŐĞ /ƐŽůĂƟŽŶ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ tŝƚŚŽƵƚ DĂŝŶƚĞŶĂŶĐĞ EŽ ^ƟĐŬŝŶŐ Žƌ :ĂŵŵŝŶŐ

V Series Integral Seat Zero leakage Live loading Seat supported design Self-cleaning seat ŝͲĚŝƌĞĐƟŽŶĂů ŽƉƟŽŶ

“ValvTechnologies valves have been the BEST switching valves we have had in ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞ ŽŶ ŽƵƌ ĐŝĚ 'ĂƐ ĞŚǇĚƌĂƟŽŶ ƐǇƐƚĞŵ͘͟ ʹ DĂŝŶƚĞŶĂŶĐĞ &ŽƌĞŵĂŶ͕ ĂŌĞƌ ϭϬ ǇĞĂƌƐ ŝŶ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŽŶ͘

info@valv.com Ɲ +1 713.860.0400

Safe Navigation, Secure Investment Energy Capital Vietnam has the local knowledge, expertise, and core values necessary to develop an integrated LNG-to-power project in Southern Vietnam. Mui Ke Ga LNG. Operational Excellence. Coming in 2025.

Integrity. Vision. Intelligence. ecvholdings.com

LNG Industry September 2021

Articles inside

Gastech 2021 Preview

LNG invasion phenomenon

Insulation: 5 reasons why

Opening the door to business in Ecuador

Positioned to weather the storms

Pump it greener

Igniting innovation

Problem avoidance in impellers

Smooth sailing

Trend spotting

The road to H2

LNG news

Gas for a greener future

Versatility, key for a changing world

Flying the flag of decarbonisation

No stopping for Asia's LNG

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