THE VALUE OF REPLICATION-RASGAS EXPERIENCE IN THE EXECUTION OF LNG TRAINS 3, 4, AND 5

摘要

In 2001 RasGas awarded an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to a joint venture of Chiyoda Corporation, Snamprogetti, Mitsui and Al Mana W.L.L. (CMS&A) for onshore facilities within the RasGasII Expansion (or RGX) Project. The basic building block to these projects was a technically-innovative LNG train, based on the Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APCI) liquefaction process that at that time was the world's largest capacity LNG train, capable of producing 4.7 million tones of LNG per annum (Mta). As part of the RGX Onshore project, RasGasII and CMS&A executed three similar LNG trains in rapid succession and three essentially identical LNG storage tanks over a 5 year period. In addition, the RGX Project portfolio included the 750 million cubic feet per day (Mscfd) Al Khaleej Gas Project which shares utilities and infrastructure with the LNG trains, as well as using the same front-end (gas treating) facility design. The Al Khaleej Gas Project is wholly owned by Exxon Mobil Middle East Gas Marketing Ltd. and RasGas executed the project on their behalf under a Services Agreement.rnThe RGX projects have been very successful, with all completed projects delivered on or ahead of schedule and within budget. This achievement was recognized in the award of "Best Project of the Year" by "Pipeline Magazine" and "Excellence in Project Integration Award" by the International Petroleum Technical Conference in 2005. Design and execution strategy replication have been key components to this success.rnThis paper will describe how and where replication has been applied on the project. It will also summarize the resulting benefits including:rn1. Reduced capital costs - 30% reduction in unit cost from Train 3 to Train 5.rn2. Reduced execution time - from EPC award to Mechanical Acceptance reduced from 36 months for prior RasGas Trains 1 and 2, to 33 months for Trains 3 and 4, and 28 months for Train 5.rn3. Continuously enhanced safety performance - already world leading safety performance was improved by 50% in the 4th year of construction, and a further 50% in the 5th year.rn4. Facilities quality - completion quality and initial facility availability improved with each project.rnFinally, lessons learned relative to application of design and execution plan replication will be discussed.