LNG Barges: The Offshore Solution for Export of US Pipeline Gas

摘要

With the advent of increased production of Shale Gas in United States, and the continuing drop in gas prices, the possibilityof exporting US gas is becoming more real. Many developers are vying to build larger capacity LNG production facilities forexporting to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Non-Free Trade AgreementNon-FTA) countries in Asia and Far East whilesmaller market exists in South America and Caribbean requiring small to midscale LNG supply volumes.The larger on-land base load LNG export production plants require significant capital and takes 4 to 5 years to bring online.A novel LNG barge concept provides a faster way to build a small to midscale LNG production facility near-shore inprotected waters and/or dockside. The focus on a simple, reliable process solution and barge structure is making this concepta reality for converting US pipeline gas into LNG for export to markets which require smaller LNG volumes than areenvisioned with the large scale projects.A barge mounted LNG production facility requires the application of liquefaction technology that is simple, space efficientand energy efficient. The technology of choice for these applications is the Single Mixed Refrigerant (SMR) process. Thesimplicity, flexibility and scalability of the SMR process can provide a wide range of liquefaction capacities in a uniquesingle or multiple-train configuration on the barge. There are several system options from which any configuration can bebuilt around depending up on the location, power availability, permitting constraints for use of water cooling and the LNGoffloading/export strategy. The barge could be self sufficient or be integrated with onshore support systems at dockside. Thebarge and its topsides production facility can be built in United States or anywhere in the world competitively and towed toUS locations.This paper will cover the design features of the barge configurations developed specifically for liquefying US pipeline gasbetween 0.5 MMTPA and 2.1 MMTPA capacities opening up a new frontier for offshore LNG production in small to midscale range.