Liquefied Natural Gas Vaporization Terminal

Abstract

The goal of the enclosed project was to design a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal that can deliver 1050 MM SCF per day of natural gas to various consumers. [1.] Liquefied natural gas is first imported from third world nations such as Algeria at S4.50 per MM Btu [20.], stored and vaporized at the facility, and then sent out through pipelines at a pressure of 1250 psi. This was accomplished through the use of a holding and or unloading unit and a vaporization unit. The same equipment three storage tanks, two suction drums, one compressor, one packed bed condenser, and 16,500 ft of pipes -- are used for both the holding and unloading scenarios. One of the major issues of this terminal is the constant heat leak due to the LNG coming in and stored at a cryogenic temperature of -256 F. All of the pipes have 6 inches of insulation to reduce the heat leak. A portion of the LNG in the storage tanks is boiled off in order to keep the rest of the LNG cold. The packed bed condenser is used to recover LNG from the boil-off gas. Afterwards, the LNG is then sent to the vaporization unit to be vaporized by warm Dynalene HC The Dynalene HC is reheated through an air heat exchanger and an ethylene glycol loop. 10% of the imported LNG will be used for this vaporization unit. The only difference between the holding and unloading scenarios is that during unloading, part of the LNG vaporized due to heat leaks will be cooled via the desuperheater and packed bed condenser and sent back to the ship at -252 F. In the holding scenario, more LNG will have to be circulated to keep the temperature at around -256 F. The vaporized LNG is then sold for S6.50 per MM Btu [20.]. Overall, the project is very profitable. Although the total capital investment is S301 Million, the payback period is 6 years. The NPV is $1,900 million, calculated with an IRR of 26.95%.