Danny Constantinis, Executive Chairman and CEO, EM&I Group, Malta, outlines the integrity challenges of cryogenic storage, showing how overcoming these barriers will be integral for the LNG industry whilst supporting Europe in the transition to renewables. NG will be critical during the transition to renewables and to ensure supplies to Europe, so adequate and efficient strategic storage facilities to cope with disruptions will be required. Over the past few years, the LNG market has changed significantly from its traditional model of long-term, fully integrated supply contracts, whereby the field developer would produce and liquify the LNG onshore, transport it using the specialised LNG carriers, and supply a fixed volume of LNG to a single entity, such as an energy provider, to more versatile models, which include spot trading, bunkering, and development of independently owned and operated floating LNG (FLNG) production facilities and FSRUs. In the original model, the raw gas was piped to a land-based reliquefication plant where it was converted to LNG. An LNG carrier, with insulated tanks to maintain a temperature of approximately -163˚C, transported the LNG to a shore-based storage facility where it was then delivered to a regas plant and later sent to a pipeline for domestic consumption or directly to a power station for conversion to electricity for domestic supply. This model worked well, especially for hydrocarbon-starved nations who preferred gas as their main source of energy.
Next came the large near-shore or land-based gas fields where new infrastructure transported the gas produced across national boundaries, over long distances, generally by pipeline, to feed power stations in places such as Europe, the US, etc. However, as has been seen with recent events, over-reliance on pipeline gas supplies can create problems when a political situation threatens to interrupt the security of supply. Considering the current situation in Ukraine, trading patterns have been redrawn to make up for any interrupted supply in the future. Countries who relied upon pipeline gas as their primary source of gas supply are now rethinking those strategies. For instance, more LNG is being shipped from the US to Europe. Countries with available coastline are now looking at the provision of independent floating storage and regasification facilities to be the main source of supply for domestic consumption. Coupled with this security of supply issue, the original model also changed when local regulations made it more difficult for new facilities to obtain permits to build LNG storage tanks onshore, especially near built-up areas. Lack of LNG storage onshore meant that gas cavern storage acted as
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