Hamworthy’s second LNG regasification plant order features seawater heating rather than the steam heating used in the first systems ordered; both types have been tested in the company’s pilot plant in Norway.
Hamworthy has signed a contract with Golar LNG for three LNG regasification units to be retrofitted on the 138,000m3 LNG carrier Golar Winter, which will be chartered by Petrobas as a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) in an LNG import project located in Guanabara Bay, Brazil. Gas will be sent from Golar Winter to an onshore gas grid.
The three propane re-gasification skids will be delivered by Hamworthy at the end of 2008. Capacity per skid is 7 million m3/day; outlet pressure is 103 bar and outlet temperature up to 6°C. “The equipment has a high level of efficiency as it is based on seawater heating and therefore requires less fuel and operating cost to regasify the LNG than steam-based systems,” said Tore Lunde, managing director of Hamworthy Gas Systems. During nominal send-out, two skids will be used, while the third is on stand-by.
Each 70-tonne skid is 10.5m long, 6.1m wide, 8m high, and contains the required pumps, motors, heat exchangers, instrumentation and control systems to provide the required capacity. The equipment is designed for marine installations and cryogenic working conditions and can handle large variations in send-out capacity. Only proven equipment with extensive references is included in the delivery.
Kelvyn Derrick, chief executive of Hamworthy, said: "We said when confirming our first ever regasification order in April that there was considerable industry interest in using FSRUs to avoid the need for onshore LNG reception terminals. We are pleased to report our second order for regasification systems so soon and believe this is a good indication that this is an active market where Hamworthy is at the forefront of the technology."
Hamworthy’s first order for onboard LNG regasification plants is for systems to be installed on two 145,000m3 LNG shuttle regasification vessels from Samsung Heavy Industries Limited. These will serve the Neptune deepwater port terminal to be sited about 35km north east of Boston, Massachusetts.
The Golar Winter system will be based on seawater heating a closed propane loop, and is not the same as used on the Neptune ships, which is a steam/glycol system, Mr Lunde said. “The intermediate propane circuit between seawater and LNG is applied to avoid freezing. Both systems have been extensively tested in our pilot test plant at Kollsnes, Norway.”
