Gas Processing News
A. Blume, Editor
Study for small-scale FLNG offshore Australia
Japan’s Kyushu Electric Power Co. agreed to back a study using floating LNG (FLNG) vessels at remote gas fields of 0.5 Tft3–2 Tft3 offshore Australia that would otherwise be untapped.
The consortium (led by Perth-based Transborders Energy) is targeting first production in mid-2026 at the earliest. Capital costs are expected to be approximately A$1.6 B ($1.1 B). Transborders hopes to complete preliminary design work on small-scale FLNG with TechnipFMC and Norway’s Add Energy, as well as talks with potential owners of stranded gas resources, by the end of 2019.
Kyushu could be a key LNG customer and could help secure access to low-cost debt finance from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), enhancing the project’s cost-competitiveness.
Small-scale JAX LNG starts in US
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JAX LNG is the first small-scale LNG facility in the US with both marine-loading and truck-loading capabilities. The facility was constructed through a JV between Pivotal LNG and NorthStar Midstream.
JAX LNG, a liquefied natural gas facility located at Dames Point in Jacksonville, Florida, officially started the newly constructed plant.
The JAX LNG plant is also positioned to serve the rail, drilling, mining, power generation, commercial and industrial sectors. At present, the JAX LNG facility has the capacity to produce 120,000 gal/d of LNG and store more than 2 MMgal of LNG. The site has room to expand the facility and add two liquefaction trains and a second storage tank, which would increase LNG production capacity to 600,000 gal/d and storage up to 4 MMgal. JAX LNG can use its advantaged location on the water to service its maritime customers via LNG transport vessels. Construction of the facility commenced in 2016.
Finland fully opens LNG terminal after delay
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Manga, the largest LNG terminal in the Nordic region, has a storage capacity of 50,000 m3. It began receiving shipments in November 2017, but is now ready for full commercial operations after an additional year of tests. The terminal includes facilities for LNG unloading, storage, pipeline distribution, regasification, truck loading and ship bunkering.
Finland’s €110-MM ($124.5-MM) Manga liquefied natural gas import terminal has fully opened after a year-long delay to the project, according to engineering firm Wärtsilä and part-owner Gasum Oy.
Wärtsilä will maintain the Manga facility for 10 yr. It will supply LNG to steel mills, ships and local industries in Finland and Sweden. Located near the northern Finnish port of Tornio, Manga has received supplies from Novatek’s small-scale LNG production plant at Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Vysotsk, and will also receive cargos from Norway, among other sources. Finnish steel firm Outokumpu, a part-owner in the terminal, said that receiving LNG through Tornio will help it cut its emissions and reduce production costs due to more stable energy prices.
Shell ships first LNG cargo from Prelude
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In early June, Royal Dutch Shell shipped the long-awaited first cargo of LNG from its massive Prelude FLNG plant off northwest Australia. Prelude’s startup marks the end of a $200-B LNG construction boom in Australia over the past decade.
Prelude’s first cargo had been targeted for 2018, but shipment was delayed as the company tackled a string of problems at the 490-m (1,600-ft) ship. The total cost of the project is estimated at $17 B. Prelude will produce 3.6 metric MMtpy of LNG, 1.3 million metric MMtpy of condensate and 400,000 metric MMtpy of LPG.
Shell had expected Prelude to be the world’s first floating LNG project, but was beaten by Malaysia’s Petronas, which shipped the first cargo from its PFLNG Satu project 2 yr ago. Prelude is the world’s biggest FLNG plant, however. Prelude is jointly owned by Shell; Japan’s Inpex Corp.; Korea Gas Corp.; and Overseas Petroleum and Investment Corp.,
a unit of Taiwan’s CPC Corp.
Altus buys 27% of Permian Highway Pipeline
Altus Midstream Company subsidiary Altus Midstream Processing LP has exercised and closed its option to acquire a 26.7% equity interest in the Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP).
PHP is an estimated $2.1-B long-haul pipeline that is expected to have approximately 2.1 Bft3d of natural gas transportation capacity from the Waha area in northern Pecos County, Texas to the Katy, Texas area, with connections to the Texas Gulf Coast and other markets.
The final investment decision to proceed with the project was made in September 2018, and the initial capacity of the pipeline is fully subscribed under long-term binding agreements. PHP is expected to enter service in October 2020 and is approximately 26.7%-owned by each of Altus Midstream Processing, Kinder Morgan and EagleClaw Midstream Ventures, with the remaining 20% owned by an anchor shipper affiliate.
Linde plans $1.4-B gasification expansion
Industrial gases group Linde will spend $1.4 B to boost its Singapore gasification facilities to support the planned expansion of ExxonMobil Corp.’s nearby integrated refining complex. The investment will enable Linde’s facility on Jurong Island to supply additional hydrogen and synthesis gas to ExxonMobil’s Singapore refinery.
ExxonMobil’s expansion project, which is expected to come online in 2023, will convert fuel oil and other residual oil products into higher-value lube base stocks and distillates to help meet IMO 2020 rules limiting the sulfur content of marine fuels to 0.5% from 3.5%.
Linde’s project will include building and operating four additional gasifiers, a 1,200-metric-tpd air separation plant, downstream gas processing units and sulfur recovery plants. When the project is completed, Linde will also be able to supply hydrogen, carbon monoxide and synthesis gas to other customers on Jurong Island. Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2019, with startup slated for 2023.
Anadarko makes FID for Mozambique LNG
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and the co-venturers in Mozambique’s Offshore Area 1 announced a final investment decision (FID) on the Anadarko-led Mozambique LNG project. The FID confirms that the Area 1 development plan is now effective and the project can now advance to the construction phase.
The LNG project will be Mozambique’s first onshore LNG development, initially consisting of two LNG trains with total nameplate capacity of 12.88 metric MMtpy, to support the development of the Golfinho/Atum fields in offshore Area 1. The project has successfully secured in aggregate 11.1 metric MMtpy of long-term LNG sales, with key LNG buyers in Asia and in Europe. Additionally, the project is expected to have a significant domestic gas component for in-country consumption to encourage future economic development.
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