Compressed natural gas carrier opens options for remote, marginal fields

摘要

Floating LNG vessels are emerging as a solution for harnessing gas from mid-size fields remote from offshore infrastructure. But there are many smaller offshore fields that do not justify the huge vessels that Shell and Petronas have commissioned for their current projects off Australia and Malaysia. Fincantieri Offshore is working on an alternative concept for a ship-shaped compressed natural gas carrier - the CNG32000 - that could economically transport gas from stranded fields, compressed onboard to a pressure of 166 bar (2,407 psi), to a standard onshore unloading station or an existing regasification plant up to 1,500 mi (2,414 km) away. Aside from providing a market for gas that might otherwise sit in the ground, the concept opens other potential benefits to offshore operators. One is avoiding the expense of installing a gas pipeline in the case of an oil field with associated gas, or having to re-inject the gas into the reservoir. Another is an economic means of disposing of gas from extended offshore well tests, ensuring compliance with restrictions on flaring.