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 ISSN 1747-1826

CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2017

03 Comment 34 Insulation for all seasons

Carl Davison, Kingspan Industrial Insulation, UK, explains how PIR insulation
05 LNG news can help improve the energy efficiency of LNG facilities.

39 Quench the flare

12 A change of course
Richard Bass, Navigant Consulting Inc., UK, looks at how the
East Mediterranean gas market has changed over the last 10 years,
with particular focus on Egypt, Israel and Cyprus.
Christian Belting-Clar and Leonid Bleicher, Dresser-Rand business, part of
Siemens Power & Gas Division, Germany, explain how to minimise BOG flaring
by LNG quenching.
45 Quench control
Wayne Jacobson, Compressor Controls Corp. (CCC), USA, outlines the
advantages of integrated quench controls for LNG refrigeration compressors.

49 Make a prediction
Nobutaka Umeyama, Japan Marine United Corp., Japan, Kenichi Matsuoka,
Azbil Corp., Japan, and David Hill, Chemstations Inc., USA, look at the
application of dynamic process simulation for LNG vessel gas management
systems.

53 Integration or independence?
Peter Sieber, HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH, Germany, debates the benefits of a
separate approach to functional safety versus an integrated approach.

57 Waste not, want not

12 Arno Brouwer, Cryonorm, the Netherlands, presents a method to recover cold
energy from LNG regasification plants.

59 Cool idea
Augusto Bulte, Amec Foster Wheeler, USA, explains how LNG import terminals
16 Stop the giants can make use of the cold energy generated during the regasification process.
Thibault Marguet, Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions, France, presents
a dual mixed refrigerant liquefaction process that addresses mid scale
LNG projects. 64 15 facts ... on the Mediterrane
Mediterranean
20 High tide for FLNG operations
Martin Van Der Merwe, Emerson Process
rocess Management, Australia,
echnologies can help FLNG
explains how advances in digital technologies
allenges.
operators overcome operational challenges. ON THIS MONTHS C
COVER
25 Achieving cryogenic
ogenic pump
reliability
Yousef Jarrah, Toshi Hayashi, and Daniel
niel McInnis, A unique suite of LNG liqliquefaction
Nikkiso Cryo Inc., USA, review typicall roller bearing profiles. ttechnologies
tec Liquide, the
hnologies by Air Liquid
leading
le cryogenic
operator of cryoge
29 Hold the line plants
p nts worldwide and LNG p
pla pioneer,
Richard Fawcett, Dynaflow Research Group, the will reduce LNG
will enable customers to redu
Netherlands, looks at the importance of designing for
production
production costs and plant emi emissions. Safe,
pressure surges in an LNG bunkering line.
reliable
reliable and simple solutions for small
to large scale plants. Discover mo more at:
https://www.engineering-airliquide.com/LNG
https://www.engineering-airliquide

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 JOSEPH GREEN
EDITOR

COMMENT very year the Mediterranean plays host to

E holidaymakers from around the world. With reliably

hot summers, idyllic beaches, and some fantastic
local cuisine, it is no surprise that the region has
become one of the most desirable destinations for those
seeking a relaxing break.
Visions of flip-flops and siestas in the sun seem a
distant fantasy at the moment however as cold weather
dominates the forecasts in much of Europe. Greece, Italy
and Turkey were among the countries grappling with heavy
snow and freezing temperatures in January. Large swaths
of Greece have been hit by sub-zero temperatures and
heavy snowfall. The normally mild Greece has witnessed
temperatures of -15C in the north.
The LNG picture in the Mediterranean right now is also
decidedly frosty. Cold weather and problems with Algerian
gas supply have pushed up Europes gas prices. Supply from
Algeria has been reduced due to problems at Sonatrachs
Skikda LNG export terminal, just as demand reached its
peak.
French gas grid operator GRTgaz announced in January
that a force majeure in Algeria and tensions in the global
gas market were reducing deliveries of LNG to southern
France. The force majeure is in place after Algerias Skikda
LNG facility, which is used for deliveries to French and
European markets, went into a scheduled maintenance
operation. Deliveries to the Fos-sur-Mer terminal were
at about 40 GWh per day, considerably lower than the
70 GWh per day required to meet increased winter demand
for power and heating.1
Such problems have resulted in US exporters shifting
their focus to Southern Europe from Asia. The prices in
Europe are currently at their highest premiums to US gas
prices for three years. Several cargoes from the US have
already capitalised on this and made their way to
Europe.2
In January 2017, one vessel delivered US gas to
Spain and another arrived on Turkish shores. Two
more vessels transporting US gas were sailing in the
Mediterranean and another was moving across the
Atlantic. Spain, Greece and Turkey would be other
possible destinations for the US LNG cargoes. The flow
would be expected to slow in March, as winter comes
to an end in Europe and the LNG cargoes are gradually
replaced by tourists.
This months regional report focuses on
the changing LNG scene in the Mediterranean.
Richard Bass of Navigant Consulting Inc. considers
how the East Mediterranean gas market has changed
over the past ten years, and how it will continue to do
so in the future. Whilst much of the region continues
to import LNG on a large scale, Bass investigates how
many smaller countries are intent on exploring their
exportation potential, viewing LNG exports as an ideal
route to market. How do you see the picture developing
in the Mediterranean? Do you believe in the long-term
exportation potential of the smaller Mediterranean
players? Please let us know your thoughts.
We hope you enjoy this issue of LNG Industry and if
you picked up a copy at either the US LNG Summit or
the Central & Eastern European Gas Conference, dont
forget to visit www.lngindustry.com to subscribe and
receive more world-class technological updates for the
international LNG industry.
1. http://www.reuters.com/article/france-gas-lng-idUSL5N1F75F0
2. http://uk.reuters.com/article/usa-asia-lng-idUKL1N1FE4BG

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 LNGNEWS
USA
Eagle LNG files
FERC application for
Jacksonville LNG project
agle LNG Partners has announced that it has filed
E its formal application with the US Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) for authorisation to
site, construct and operate natural gas liquefaction
and export facilities at a site located on the
St. Johns River, Jacksonville, Florida, US.
The proposed Jacksonville LNG project features
three liquefaction trains. At full build-out, it will
be able to produce up to 1 million tpy of LNG
(1.65 million gal./d).
The LNG will then be transported to markets
in both Latin America and the Caribbean, where it
will be used for power generation. It will also be
delivered to local and regional markets, including
marine bunkering and high horsepower applications
for domestic consumption.
Dick Brown, the CEO of Eagle LNG, said: The
dramatic growth of natural gas supply in the
United States has created abundant and affordable
natural gas reserves that make LNG a competitively
priced fuel alternative to diesel and heavy fuel
oil. In addition, natural gas fuel has significant
environmental benefits, reducing air pollution and
carbon emissions.
If Eagle LNG receives permission from FERC to
begin construction by the first quarter of 2018, we
anticipate completion of the project in 2019.
Singapore
MOL launches study of LNG-fuelled Capesize bulker
itsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that it has
M reached an agreement to launch a joint study of an
LNG-fuelled Capesize bulker with five other companies.
These companies are: BHP Billiton; DNV GL; Rio Tinto;
Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute
(SDARI); and Woodside Energy. A letter of agreement was
signed by the parties at a ceremony held in Singapore.
Finland
LNG-fuelled ferry delivered
S Tallink Grupp has announced that it has taken delivery
A of Megastar its new LNG fast passenger ferry from
Meyer Turku Oy shipyard in Turku, Finland.
The vessel is 212 m long, and is capable of carrying
2800 passengers and 800 passenger vehicles. It features
modern dual-fuel engines that are capable of operating on
LNG and marine diesel oil, and will comply with both current
and future emission regulations for emission control areas
(ECAs), including the Baltic Sea.
The vessel has a service speed of 27 knots and will
operate on the existing Tallink shuttle service route from
Tallinn (Estonia) to Helsinki (Finland). It will replace
the current fast ferry, Superstar, commencing service on
29 January 2017.
The CEO of Tallink Grupp, Janek Stalmeister, said:
Connecting Finland and Estonia, and even further Northern
Europe to the Baltic States and being the preferred hub for
that is an important goal for us. With Megastar, this hub
becomes the most modern sea-hub in the region. At Tallink
we have been researching what our customers want in a next
generation ferry. Then we worked closely with Meyer Turku on
a fresh and functional design of the ship and I am sure the
outcome will please all our customers. We are very thankful
to Meyer Turku for listening carefully to our wishes and
building an excellent ship for us.
Delivering this ship full of latest environmentally
friendly technologies and exceeding our expectations in fuel
efficiency and increased comfort level with low vibrations
Megastar nicely demonstrates the excellence and quality of
Meyer Turku and Finnish shipbuilding.
The joint research project is called Green
Corridor and aims to reduce NOx and SOx
emissions from merchant vessels in advance
of international treaties calling for stricter
emissions standards. The project will also
examine the technological and economic
feasibility of an LNG-fuelled bulker.
February 2017 5
 LNGNEWS
Norway
Long-term small scale
LNG contract for three
Multigas vessels
.M. Skaugen SE has announced it signed long-term
I contracts for the time charter of three Multigas (MG)
vessels for a project representing a proof of concept of its
small scale LNG logistics solutions (SSLNG) on 23 January.
The revenues under these SSLNG contracts will be
approximately US$42 million/yr and therefore around
US$420 million over 10 years.
The time charter contracts are for two 10 000 m3
and one 12 000 m3 MG vessels currently operated by
the company. The company will provide shuttle/feeder
services, floating storage support, as well as storage
and offloading of LNG with a client sponsored by two
existing gas fired power plants in Africa. The power
plants are new and made for burning natural gas and
have been idle because of lack of gas supply. In addition,
the company has been requested to perform the
complete Project Management of this virtual pipeline
to be established, encompassing the entire supply chain
from the sourcing of LNG supply to the delivery of gas to
the power plants.
Start-up of the contract is planned for in late March
or early April 2017 by our Company arranging delivery of
first LNG.
News Highlights
X MAN Cryo to deliver
LNG fuel gas supply system
to Italian ferry
X Houlder and KLAW LNG join forces
X MSC Cruises partners with ARTA to develop LNG
bunkering system
Visit our website for more news: www.lngindustry.com
6 February 2017
Belgium
Ice class LNG carrier docks at
Zeebrugge LNG terminal
luxys has released a statement claiming that the worlds
F first top category ice class LNG carrier has docked at the
Zeebrugge LNG terminal in Belgium.
The vessel was recently completed at the shipyard, and is
scheduled for a number of operations at the terminal. These
include, amongst other things, cooling down its cargo tanks and
loading a small volume of LNG. The vessel has moored at the
terminal during its maiden voyage, and will continue its sea trials
afterwards, setting off to the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia, Russia, to
undergo ice performance tests.
The vessel will be used for the Yamal LNG project, which
is currently under construction in North Siberia. It has been
designed to perform year-round navigation through the Arctic to
its destination markets, and is capable of breaking through ice up
to 2.1 m thick.
Fluxys claims that this vessels call at the Zeebrugge terminal
will not be its last. Specifically, a 20-year contract was secured in
2015 to perform transhipments for the Yamal LNG project at the
facility. Currently, a fifth LNG storage tank and additional process
facilities are under construction to provide these services.
It will join a fleet other 15 similar vessels, which will also
serve the Yamal LNG production terminal and regularly call at
the Zeebrugge terminal to perform transhipment operations to
conventional LNG carriers for further redelivery to a number of
destinations, including Asia.
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 LNGNEWS
USA
Magnolia LNG and VGS
sign contract
NG Limited has announced that its 100% owned
L subsidiary, Magnolia LNG has signed a Heads of
Agreement (HoA) with Vessel Gasification Solutions
(VGS) in relation to the Magnolia LNG Project, in
Lake Charles, Louisiana, US.
The non-binding HoA provides for a 20-year
Free-on-Board Sale and Purchase Agreement of up
to 4 million tpy. The obligations of the parties are
conditional upon MLNGs satisfaction with or waiver
of conditions precedent including financial close
of the KGLNGT terminal and satisfaction by VGS of
defined credit requirements underpinning their LNG
purchases within agreed timeframes.
LNG Limiteds Managing Director & CEO,
Greg Vesey, said, We look forward to supplying
long-term volumes to the Indian market to meet
their growing needs for clean energy. Overall, this
agreement represents another important step
forward for the MLNG Project.
With the execution of this agreement, VGS
is now in a prime position to execute on the
first- mover advantage we have established on
Indias East Coast, said Gaurav Tiwari, President of
VGS. We are very excited to take this step forward
in our relationship with Magnolia, and we look
forward to working with the Magnolia team to bring
a significant tranche of US-produced LNG to a key
new market on the East Coast of India.
India
AG&P to build LNG terminal
in India
tlantic, Gulf and Pacific Co. (AG&P) and Hindustan LNG
A (HLNG) a Hyderabad-based LNG import terminal development
company have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to
supply tolled gas to power stations in the East Godavari region of
Andhra Pradesh, India.
Under the terms of the MoU, AG&P will provide an integrated
solution to deliver regasified LNG through a new LNG import
terminal. The company will also design and construct the terminal at
the port in Andhra Pradesh.
The agreement was signed at the Partnership Summit 2017
organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). It will ensure
energy supply to power producers, fertiliser plants, cold storage and
other industries in Andhra Pradesh and other markets along the east
coast.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, C. R. Prasad, the Chairman
of HLNG, said: Andhra Pradesh is the ideal place for developing an
LNG import facility to serve the growing energy demands of the east
coast of India where existing gas-fired power projects urgently need
a reliable supply of LNG. The partnership with AG&P will provide
a strong platform to develop a fast-track and low-cost LNG import
solution that enables the region to continue on its growth trajectory.
AG&P will be responsible for the design and construction
of all necessary facilities for the import terminal. These include
a floating storage and mooring system, a regasification terminal,
related utilities, and the provision of tolled gas to power plants
and other users. The company will also carry out any necessary
conversion works and, upon commissioning, ongoing operations and
maintenance activities.

13 - 14 February 2017 22 - 24 February 2017 28 - 30 March 2017

Floating LNG Australasian Oil & Gas (AOG) StocExpo Europe
London, UK Perth, Australia Rotterdam, The Netherlands
www.floating-lng.co.uk www.aogexpo.com.au www.easyfairs.com/stocexpo-rotterdam-2017/
stocexpo-rotterdam-2017

14 - 16 February 2017 23 - 24 February 2017 04 - 07 April 2017

CWC Iran LNG & Gas LNG Summit United States Gastech
Partnerships Summit Houston, US Chiba, Tokyo, Japan
Frankfurt, Germany www.lng-usa.com www.gastechevent.com
www.iranlngandgas.com

8 February 2017
 LNGNEWS
Pakistan
Excelerate to develop
second FSRU for Port
Qasim
xcelerate Energy has announced that it is prepared
E to help a consortium of Engro, Fatima and Shell to
deliver a proposed floating LNG terminal and second
floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to the
Pakistan market.
The company recently commissioned GASCOs
Ruwais floating LNG terminal in the UAE, successfully
implementing it in less than 12 months. In early
2016, Elengy successfully developed Pakistans first
LNG import terminal using Excelerates floating regas
technology.
The consortiums project site is located just across
the Port Qasim channel. When the project comes
online in 2018, the total regasification capacity of
Excelerates two FSRUs at the port will be more than
1 billion ft3/d. This is enough natural gas to support
over 6000 MW of power generation.
Daniel Bustos, Chief Development Officer, said:
Excelerate is extremely excited to work with this
strong partnership of Engro, Fatima, and Shell to
implement this project in what we view as one of the
largest markets for natural gas in the world.
Our project development and operations teams are
aggressively reviewing implementation plans for this
project. We have been very pleased to be involved with
the countrys first floating LNG terminal developed by
Engros subsidiary Elengy over the past 18 months.
USA
Magnolia LNG extends validity of EPC contract with KSJV
NG Limited has announced that Magnolia LNG LLC its
L 100% owned subsidiary has agreed to further extend the
validity period of its engineering, procurement and construction
(EPC) contract with KSJV.
The agreement will now be valid through 30 June 2017. As
announced on 26 April 2016, Magnolia and KSJV a KBR-lead
joint venture (JV) between KBR and SKE&C had extended their
original binding lump sum turnkey (LSTK) EPC contract for four
LNG trains and related facilities until 31 December 2016, with
a subsequent interim extension to 31 January 2017. This latest
extension will ensure that the contract remains valid for an
10 February 2017
China
Worlds first barge-based
FSRU undocks
ison Offshore & Marine has released a statement claiming
W that the worlds first barge-based floating storage and
regasification unit (FSRU) has successfully undocked from the
companys dry-dock in Nantong, China.
Wison provided engineering, procurement and construction
(EPC) services for the Exmar vessel. The FSRU will become the
worlds first such vessel with small scale storage capacity, and
has a regasification capacity of 600 million ft3/d. The vessel
features two SPB cargo tanks installed in the hull for storage.
Each tank has a capacity of 12 500 m3.
The project is the second one that Wison and Exmar have
cooperated on (the other being the Caribbean FLNG project). By
adopting a modularised approach, the FSRUs hull and topside
modules have been fabricated simultaneously, reducing safety
risks, improving construction quality, and helping to reduce
the delivery schedule. In addition to this, Wison developed its
own cargo containment system and cargo handling system for
IHI SPB tanks. The regasification module, meanwhile, has been
successfully applied in Caribbean FLNGs final performance test
as its temporary regasification skid.
The Senior Vice President of Wison Offshore & Marine,
An Wenxin, said: The successful undocking of the FSRU once
again verifies Wisons strong competence in the lump sum
turnkey projects for floating LNG facilities. It further proves
that we are capable of providing the market with the most
cost-effective EPC solutions that are applicable in other LNG
developments, such as the new W-FSRP (Wison Floating
Storage, Regasification and Power generation) series we
launched recently.
additional six months.
Greg Vesey, LNG Limited Managing Director and CEO,
said: We continue to work closely with key contractors
and suppliers such as KSJV to maintain momentum on
the Magnolia LNG project as we continue our marketing
efforts. This further extension of our LSTK EPC contract
with KBR-SKE&C, together with our FERC final order and
Department of Energy non-FTA export approval, further
cements Magnolia LNG as construction-ready and the next US
LNG export project that will move forward into construction
and operation.
 COU A change of

Richard Bass, Navigant Consulting Inc.,

UK, looks at how the East Mediterranean
gas market has changed over the last
10 years, with particular focus on Egypt,
Israel and Cyprus.
12
URSE
RSE
A
discussion held 10 years ago about
East Mediterranean gas would have
focused on Egypt. It would have
concentrated specifically on the quantity
of pipeline gas that Egypt could export
regionally and the capability of its two LNG
terminals to compete for customers in Europe,
North America, and Asia. Fast forward to today,
and any discussion of East Mediterranean
gas would consider when Egypt will cease to
be a significant LNG importer, as well as the
prospects for gas exports from Israel and Cyprus.
So how, in less than a decade, have the regions
circumstances changed so markedly? And what
is the next decade going to look like?

13
 Egypts change of fortunes independent power projects, developed by a consortia led
By 2006, Egypts gas sector was highly successful. The by both KEPCO and AES, were built as efficient combined
LNG liquefaction plants at Idku and Damietta had been cycle gas turbines (CCGTs). In 2006, authorities were
operating for several years, having been constructed considering the development of gas distribution
at a low cost per t of capacity and rapid schedule that businesses in both Aqaba and Amman to deliver low cost
were close to industry-leading. Pipeline gas exports had Egyptian gas to residential, commercial, and industrial
been negotiated with Israel and an offshore pipeline consumers.
constructed to deliver gas into Ashkelon. This was a In Egypt, gas was supplied to new power plants and a
politically significant and valuable commercial agreement growing petrochemical industry. However, all was not well
between the two countries. This gas supply supplemented in the Egyptian gas industry; production declines at older
Israels own modest gas production and allowed it to fields were starting to bite. The low price offered by
continue expanding its power generation fleets reliance Egypt for domestic gas production in a world of
on gas. US$140/bbl of oil did little to incentivise exploration
During that time period, Navigant Consulting Inc. was activities. Meanwhile, highly subsidised gas prices
helping the Jordanian government to negotiate pipeline encouraged rapid increases in domestic consumption, and
gas imports from Egypt. An agreement to import up to the commercial structure of the production-sharing
3 billion m3/yr was realised in 2003, with first gas being agreements offered to energy companies were looking
delivered to the steam turbine power plant in Aqaba. The increasingly uncompetitive.
gas pipeline crossed Egypts Sinai Peninsula. An offshore By 2010, these issues were beginning to create
segment then headed to Israel, whilst the Jordan-destined problems for Egypt and its gas customers, with deliveries
branch turned south toward the Gulf of Aqaba. Despite to Jordan and Israel becoming somewhat unreliable.
the relatively short distance to Jordan, the crossing of the However, the serious problems kicked off in 2011. With
Gulf of Aqaba was technically complex, requiring one of the Arab Spring spreading across North Africa, the
the worlds largest pipe-lay vessels due to the steep government of Egypt was overthrown. The new regime
offshore gradient. The geography of the Gulf of Aqaba had different priorities to that of its predecessor; gas
would also come to affect the construction of Jordans supply to domestic consumers was ranked above exports,
LNG import terminal approximately 10 years later. Like which declined rapidly. As a result, the LNG liquefaction
Israel, Jordan converted its power plants to gas; the facility at Damietta was mothballed almost immediately.
The Idku facility continued to
export cargoes for some time,
as it was supplied directly
from a producing gas field,
but eventually even that
supply was diverted for
domestic consumption.
Pipeline supplies to Jordan
became highly intermittent
and effectively ceased by the
middle of 2012. This created
massive problems for the
Jordanian government, as it
was forced to buy expensive
gasoil to operate its new fleet
of CCGTs. The gas supply deal
with Israel was cancelled.
Although substantial, the
impact in Israel was mitigated
to some extent by its rising
gas production.
By 2013, Egypts gas
shortage had become so
severe that it had to rapidly
implement an LNG import
facility on the Red Sea. At the
same time, Navigant was
assisting Jordan in
implementing its own LNG
import terminal at Aqaba to
replace the now absent
Figure 1. Multiple options exist for the monetisation of East Mediterranean gas. Egyptian gas supplies. Jordan
later signed a deal to allow

14 February 2017
Egypt to import additional LNG cargoes via the
Aqaba terminal, to be delivered to Egypt using the now
reversed pipeline across the Sinai. A second Egyptian
LNG import facility followed and a third facility is being
considered.
Gas developments in Israel and
Cyprus
While Egypt was struggling with growing gas demand
and declining production, Israels gas industry was
developing rapidly. A consortium led by Noble Energy
discovered Tamar, Leviathan, and other smaller gas
fields. Tamar was developed quickly to meet domestic
demand as Egyptian supplies faltered. Israel also
implemented an LNG import terminal to supplement
domestic production, especially during the summer peak
demand months.
Noble and its partners began searching for
development options for the much larger Leviathan gas
field, initially focusing on LNG exports to Asia or Europe
(The North American market that had originally been
targeted by Egypts LNG terminals had long since
vanished as a result of North Americas shale gas
revolution).
Then, Israeli domestic politics intervened. Nobles
successful exploration programme had transformed
Israels energy sector. A consequence, however, was that
a single consortium now controlled the vast majority of
Israels newly discovered gas resources. That fact caused
Israels monopoly commission to review the status of the
gas industry and, in particular, the status of Nobles
consortium. The review turned out to be a long and
protracted process, during which the development of
Leviathan was essentially put on hold.
In Cyprus, Nobles consortium had discovered
another large gas field: Aphrodite. Once again, LNG
exports seemed like an ideal route to market. However, a
combination of economics and geopolitics has held back
Cyprus gas ambitions. Although Aphrodite is a
substantial resource, it is not big enough by itself to
justify a world scale LNG liquefaction plant. Noble
needed to find more gas or others active in Cyprus
(e.g. Eni and Total) needed to do the same.
Unfortunately, that has not yet happened. One factor is
that the domestic energy market in Cyprus is very small.
Unlike in Israel, Noble was not able to develop
Aphrodite initially for domestic consumption and then
consider further export opportunities.
Geopolitics also complicates any gas development in
Cyprus. Whilst the Cypriot government had identified a
number of exploration blocks to the south of the island,
Turkey (which controls the north of the island) had also
identified a number of blocks. Many of these blocks
overlapped, including those held by Noble and Total.
Gaza Marine
Well before the discovery of significant gas resources
in either Cyprus or Israel, BG Group discovered
the Gaza Marine field offshore from Gaza in 1999.
Development of the resource was complicated by the
political relationship between the Palestinian Authority
and Israel. BG negotiated for several years to supply gas
to Israel and Gaza. A CCGT power plant was developed
(initially by Enron and completed by CCC) in Gaza
with a view to utilise the gas from Gaza Marine. That
process essentially came to a halt when Hamas came
to power in 2007. As a result, Gazas power plant has
never received any gas and has had to burn expensive
gasoil instead. BG tried again in 2012 after the Egyptian
pipeline contract to Israel was cancelled, but Nobles
development of Israels own Tamar field meant that
Gaza Marine remained undeveloped. Shells recent
takeover of BG is unlikely to aid the development of
Gaza Marine, as Shell is seeking to divest US$30 billion
of assets Gaza Marine is probably on the disposal list.
Now and the future
The Egyptian gas sector may be about to take another
change in direction. Enis recent discovery of the giant
Zohr gas field may, along with other recent discoveries,
bring Egypts gas supply and demand back into balance.
The fast-track implementation of Egypts two LNG
import projects and the progress being reported on Zohr
suggest that a turnaround in Egypts fortunes could be
reasonably rapid. A pause in the execution of the third
LNG import facility may be further indication that Egypt
is heading back on track. The Zohr discovery, just to the
south of Cyprus maritime border with Egypt, has also
increased interest in Cyprus recent licensing round.
Will Egypt return to exporting significant quantities
of gas? Yes, but the source of the exported gas is
unlikely to be Egypts own gas fields. Shells recent
agreement with Cyprus and its investment in Cypriot gas
resources suggest the probable import of Cypriot gas for
re-export as LNG from Egypts mothballed Idku
liquefaction terminal. Both Idku and Damietta have
reportedly been running at bare minimum throughput
and exporting a cargo occasionally to keep the units
cold. With the supply of Cypriot gas, these facilities
could return to something close to full capacity. The
economics of this approach should be attractive for all
of the companies and governments involved because
investment in the export terminals has already been
made and Cypriot gas is looking for an economically
viable route to market. Development of Aphrodite for
export via Egypt should also enable gas to be supplied
to Cyprus domestic market, lowering its high electricity
costs.
Leviathan also appears to be moving forward.
Nobles recent announcement of two agreements to
supply customers in Jordan, as well as possible further
gas sales in Israel, should enable a final investment
decision (FID) to be made in 2017. Like Cyprus, interest
in Israels latest licensing round appears strong.
Domestic Israeli gas consumption has the potential to
grow and access to Egypts other LNG terminal at
Damietta may provide a cost-effective export route.
There is no doubt that the East Mediterranean is a
challenging place to do business, where economics take
a back seat to geopolitics more often than not. However,
after a tumultuous decade, recent developments point to
a brighter future for the regions gas sector.
February 2017 15
G ANTS
STOP THE

16
 odays LNG market is highly challenging and complex.

T The recent Paris climate agreement has established the

long-term global need for energy supplies that are both
affordable and lower-carbon. With continuing international
growth in energy demand, and the inherent advantages of natural
gas as a source of lower-carbon energy, the LNG
market will remain healthy and dynamic.
At the same time, however, current market
Thibault Marguet, Air overcapacity and the low oil price have resulted in
Liquide Global E&C falling LNG prices, and increasing difficulties for
financing. In addition, the geography of the LNG
Solutions, France, market is changing. Patterns of demand are creating
a more fluid global market, in which scale, agility,
presents a dual mixed and flexibility are fundamental. LNG projects still
moving forward in todays market are those with the
refrigerant liquefaction best economic case and lower financing risk.
Downsizing projects, phasing CAPEX, and
process that addresses developing lower capital costs technologies are
mid scale LNG projects. paramount.
Unsurprisingly, this complex web of factors is
having a significant impact on the entire LNG value
chain. New customer needs are creating challenges
for existing business models and the technologies of project
developers and suppliers. Project developers who can

17
 demonstrate the greatest flexibility and the capacity to adapt
will hold a competitive advantage.
One of the most significant challenges faced by industry in
the emerging market is the need for high-efficiency processes
that can be downscaled and applied for smaller liquefaction
trains in the range of 1 3 million tpy, splitting the large scale
plants.
Pioneering LNG
Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions, the engineering and
construction business of the Air Liquide Group, has successfully
delivered more than 20 LNG trains all over the world in
the past 50 years, pioneering large baseload in Algeria. This
experience is relevant for todays customers and the emerging
market structure, which is demanding low capital costs
without compromising efficiency. Air Liquide is providing the
liquefaction unit for a 0.7 million tpy project currently under
execution, which provides a recent example of the companys
ability to develop an efficient, mid scale facility.
To provide customers with a full suite of LNG technologies,
Air Liquide acquired LiquefinTM from the French public research
company, IFPEN.
Addressing current demands
Air Liquides Liquefin liquefaction technology is a dual mixed
refrigerant technology featuring a high-efficiency modularised
plate fin heat exchanger (PFHE). The process has been adapted
to meet the needs of mid scale plant development, despite
having been originally developed for large scale trains. This
requires knowledge of the entire cryogenic value chain,
extending from equipment design and manufacturing, to
operation of the largest plants on various molecules (from
carbon dioxide to helium) at extreme cryogenic conditions.
This modular design can address the demands of a mid scale
plant within a single and compact piece of cryogenic
equipment: the cold box.
An efficient process
The process, illustrated in Figure 1, has a number of important
features:
z It uses two dedicated mixed refrigerant circuits: the
precooling cycle (using heavy hydrocarbon components as
refrigerant); and the cryogenic cycle for liquefaction and
subcooling (using lighter components as refrigerant).
z The cold brought by both the circuits is transferred to the
natural gas within a single cold box.
z The precooling refrigerant is vaporised at three different
pressures to closely match with the natural gas cooling
curve. In this process, the precooling cycle is operated
at a much lower temperature than in a conventional
dual-cycle process: the temperature is decreased to a
range of -50C to -80C.
z At these temperatures, the cryogenic mixed refrigerant
can be completely condensed, with no need for phase
separation. This results in a significant reduction in the
quantity of cryogenic
refrigerant required.

As a result of this, the

overall required power is
decreased, as a proportion
of the energy needed to
condense the cryogenic
mixed refrigerant is shifted
from the cryogenic cycle to
the precooling cycle. This
shifting of energy leads to
a better repartition of the
necessary heat exchange
area.
Combined with the use
of PFHEs (made of
aluminium to optimise
heat transfer), Liquefin can
improve efficiency by up to
15% compared to other
dual-cycle processes. The
process is also highly
reliable, contributing to
savings in operational
costs.

Lowering
costs and
emissions
The need to minimise
Figure 1. LiquefinTM process flow scheme. operating costs is an
important factor for

18 February 2017
project owners, as is the requirement to reduce CO2 emissions
in a growing number of jurisdictions worldwide. The process
two cooling circuits can be designed so that both refrigerant
compressors draw on the same power, using the same gas
turbines or electrical motors. This power balance generates
significant savings, not only lowering maintenance and
services costs (including spares management), but also CAPEX
through the reduced size of all process equipment, vessels
and piping. Combined with the efficiency gains described
above, the process can produce 15% more LNG for the same
installed refrigeration power than other existing processes.
Alternatively, for the same LNG production, the process
enables refrigeration power costs (fuel gas or electricity) to be
reduced, leading to proportionate cuts in CO2 emissions.
Optimised for PFHEs
Developed in the 1950s, brazed aluminium PFHEs are now
broadly used for LNG production and are an integral part
of many other process plants (for example, in air separation
units, syngas processing, CO2 capture, natural gas conditioning,
and ethylene production). The use of brazed aluminium PFHE
technology, which was progressively improved, and has been
taken to medium scale application over the last decade,
represents a robust technology that delivers higher efficiency
and lower costs compared to traditional coil-wound heat
exchanger (CWHE) technology.
fabrication and transport, and ensures impact on site works
is minimised. In addition, compactness induced by the use of
brazed aluminium allows a direct reduction of the cryogenic
equipment footprint by approximately 75% compared to a
traditional configuration based on CWHE and large kettles,
usually delivered loose to the job site.
These reductions of site activities in time and in costs
significantly reduce the risks associated with construction.
Implicitly, further footprint gains are induced by better
efficiency. For example, Air Liquides technology allows for a
reduction in the number of air cooler bays.
In addition, the companys manufacturing facilities in the
United Arab Emirates, which have direct access to waterways,
enable the fabrication and shipping of single cold box
modules to markets around the world.
Conclusion
Adapting its Liquefin technology for mid scale LNG projects,
Air Liquide now offers compact liquefaction modules: the cold
boxes. This technology is an alternative to traditional CWHEs
with proven brazed aluminium PFHEs. The cold boxes are
fabricated off-site, pre-tested and delivered fully complete to
site. This significantly reduces footprint while minimising site
complexity and shortening time to market. Hence, benefiting
from Air Liquides cryogenic expertise, Liquefin can match
current market transitions.

Minimising
manufacturing and Table 1. Comparison of cryogenic exchanger technology
construction risk Brazed aluminium PFHE CWHE
The costs associated with the
construction of LNG facilities Compactness: impact on Combined with Liquefin: 75% Base
overall layout footprint reduction
are a significant factor in project Up to 10 pieces of cryogenic
One single piece of cryogenic equipment
selection and development. The equipment
proposed modular cold box consists
of piling brazed aluminium PFHE Heating surface 2000 m2/m3 150 m2/m3
cores, carefully designed to ensure
Natural gas pressure losses Low High
an optimised flow distribution to
(enhancing efficiency) (up to five times more)
match cooling curves. The cold
box technology used in Liquefin References 10 000s 100s
provides a mid scale design fitting LNG, ethylene, oxygen, CO, etc. Mainly LNG
within a single and compact item
of equipment, from precooling to Suppliers Approximately 10 2
subcooling. This modular approach
Lead time Approximately 10 months Typically over 16 months
enables comparatively simple

Figure 2. From workshop to jobsite.

February 2017 19
 Martin Van Der Merwe, Emerson
Process Management, Australia,
explains how advances in digital
technologies can help FLNG operators
overcome operational challenges.

20
 early two decades after floating LNG (FLNG) facilities
N were first conceptualised, FLNG production is finally
becoming a reality.1 It is likely that Petronas PFLNG Satu
will be the first FLNG facility in operation, having achieved first
gas on 14 November 2016 from the Kanowit gas field, located
offshore Malaysia. PFLNG Satu will be closely followed by Shells
Prelude facility, which will be located in the Browse basin, 475 km
North-North-East of Broome, Western Australia.
Current market circumstances, however, could not have been
imagined by those visionaries. Natural gas prices today are around
the same levels as two decades ago, yet the cost of production has
increased over 60%.2 With an oversupply of energy resources and
slowing demand in the market, this is expected to remain the
status quo for some time.
The question from industry stakeholders, particularly those
with shelved LNG projects, will be how the return on investment
(ROI) of FLNG stacks up when these facilities start production. It is
unlikely that the feasibility studies for these projects anticipated
the current market conditions, so the obvious strategy they would
need to deploy, to provide a return within the original targets, is to
reduce production costs as much as possible.
The thin margin that energy producers now operate under has
been the catalyst for many to rethink the way they construct and
operate their facilities, in order to reduce costs. FLNG has been
21

Figure 1. Prelude undergoing final commissioning in
South Korea (image courtesy of Shell).
Figure 2. Traditional project execution.
Figure 3. Project execution with decoupled hardware and
software engineering.
seen by some as the solution to reduce the initial construction
costs of an LNG facility in Australia, as demonstrated by
Woodsides direction change with Browse, from onshore to FLNG
before the programme was shelved in March 2016. While many
market commentators challenge this belief, the result will not be
known until the full costs of these first FLNG projects are
released. It is undeniable, however, that offshore production costs
will be higher than production costs at onshore facilities, unless
FLNG operators take full advantage of the available technology
and pave a new way for offshore maintenance and operations.
In a recent interview on the ABC News (Australian
Broadcasting Corp.), Shells CEO, Ben Van Beurden highlighted that
the ones who are going to win [in the energy industry] are the
ones who are advantaged from a cost perspective. Van Beurden
also mentioned that to gain the advantage, companies can
provide self-help by simplifying and standardising designs,
22 February 2017
executing projects well and reducing complexity. Energy
producers today have many options to assist this self-help
process, both from a project and operations perspective, and FLNG
is best placed to take advantage of these.
Project certainty
The concept of design one build many was considered as a
method of simplifying and standardising the design of FLNG.
However, technology advancement and lessons learnt from the
first build are yet to make an impact, as subsequent builds are
still on hold. In an ideal world, however, it can be argued that a
higher reduction of overall project costs should be recognised
by simply executing a project successfully. So, what steps can be
taken to ensure that a project is executed successfully? A good
start would be to address the two main reasons that 40% of all
oil and gas capital projects fail: on-time and on-budget delivery.4
In the traditional project execution approach, hardware
design and software design are fundamentally linked. The link is
required to ensure data consistency from the field device to the
logic controller, which is defined through several design
documents, such as instrumentation range, alarms limits and tag
lists, cable schedules, termination drawings, cabinet layouts, loop
drawings, etc. These designs are required to be issued for
construction before any progress can be made. This places severe
pressure on the project critical path if any aspect of the design is
delayed. Furthermore, this approach leaves little flexibility for any
late changes. For example, changing a level switch to a level
transmitter would require rework of all the design documentation,
including both the hardware and software packages.
Technology advances in electronic marshalling and
virtualisation of control hardware have enabled these two
streams to be executed separately. Software functional designs
can be developed and tested using virtualised project hardware
hosted in the cloud, while cabinets can be manufactured with
only I/O capacity and hazardous classification requirements as a
design criteria. I/O addressing and late binding occurs at the time
of installation when each pair of a multi-core cable can be
individually characterised to its I/O type using characterisation
modules (CHARMs), at the terminal. This eliminates the need for
I/O card cross marshalling cabinets, which, in FLNG projects
where space and weight comes at a premium, is significant.
In Emersons estimations, a project with 18 000 I/O taking
advantage of its wide range of CHARM I/O types mounted in field
junction boxes, as well as wireless I/O, would be able to remove
80% of traditional wiring, reducing traditional marshalling
cabinets and space by 97% and decreasing engineering design
hours by 30%, not to mention savings on point-to-point and loop
testing.5 This has the potential to significantly impact both budget
and schedule, considering the results of a study by Blue Canyon
Partners, which found that automation only makes up 1 10% of
the total project capital budget, while it can impact the start-up
schedule by as much as 20 25%.6 It follows that deploying
electronic marshalling technology that reduces construction costs
(where the bulk of the costs are), provides execution flexibility
and removes the schedule dependency of automation and design,
will deliver on a projects certainty of success.
Operational certainty
Reducing the cost of projects will impact CAPEX investment.
However, given that operating assets have typical planned
lifespans of 20 40 years, the real focus in todays market is
improving the ROI over the operational lifespan. OPEX will have
the greatest impact on the viability of FLNG facilities in the
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 medium-term. In particular, if FLNG operators attempted to deploy
current industry offshore operating strategies and scheduled
maintenance philosophies, it will be very difficult to be profitable
at current market rates. A large detractor for FLNG profitability
will be the increased production cost associated with the high
cost of labour for the specialist skills required to operate and
maintain an LNG train 400 km off the Australian shore.
To compound this challenge, an FLNG train has limited
real-estate available for personnel, as well as process and
equipment redundancy. This introduces greater complexity in
managing process upsets, equipment replacement and spares,
which ultimately increases the risk to production uptime and
asset reliability.
One way to address this challenge is to ensure that
equipment used on an FLNG train is specified to provide a high
degree of diagnostic capability for use in predictive algorithms.
This is an imperative to allow maintenance strategies to become
proactive, based on the condition of the equipment, ensuring that
the right spares and right experts are available to perform
maintenance and provide support at the right time and prevent
unplanned downtime due to predictable equipment failures.
The smaller footprint ironically assists with the deployment
of a more modern strategy to detect potential process upsets
and increase efficiency and safety a pervasive wireless
Figure 4. Networked architecture with IIoT enabling
collaboration and remote operations.
Figure 5. Shell Prelude collaborative work environment in
Perth, Australia (image courtesy of Shell).
24 February 2017
network. The wireless network provides the flexibility to easily add
several additional measurements across the process, on demand,
enabling the analysis of process dynamics and control
improvements, optimising production with a view to limiting
process upsets. Additional data points can also assist in energy
efficiency analysis and safety improvements through such
examples as steam trap monitoring and safety shower activation
alerts. This capability has proven to open up opportunities that
have not been possible in the past. Today, the industrial internet of
things (IIoT) is delivering real benefits through pervasive sensing.
With a recent study by Mckinsey & Co. showing potential yield in
operational work-site productivity gains of 5 10% and personnel
productivity improvements of 10 20%, it is clear why companies
in the top quartile of operational efficiency are embracing this
technology.7
The additional data generated by the wave of IIoT does bring
with it challenges to minimise information leakage in data integrity,
storage, accessibility, analysis, visualisation and ensuring that it
translates into decisions that drive operational certainty.8
One element that will assist in driving productivity
improvements through with IIoT comes from using wireless
infrastructure to enable offshore technicians and engineers to
utilise mobile technology, providing access to manuals, procedures
and onshore experts, effectively connecting a mobile worker to the
remote maintenance support centre or even an equipment supplier.
These advances in video conferencing, mobile technology,
collaboration tools and IIoT are providing a promising avenue for
FLNG operators to overcome the challenges that FLNG projects face
in this and other aspects of operations, and it is uniquely positioned
to do so. An example is Shells investment in its capability to provide
remote collaboration capability for Prelude through its collaborative
work environment (CWE) space in Perth, Australia.
Conclusion
Even though there are many headwinds in the current energy market
that have stifled FLNG CAPEX investment, the current fleet of FLNG
facilities being commissioned will have a unique opportunity to
capitalise on the current exploitation phase in the industry, using
pervasive sensing, smart devices and equipment that is proactively
managed and interconnected by the IIoT, enabling people to
productively deliver ROI that will fuel the next investment phase for
FLNG.
References
1. NAKLIE, M., Mobils Floating LNG Plant. Twelfth International
Conference in LNG (pp. 2.1-1-11). Perth: LNG12, (1998).
2. CLARK, A., ALMEIDA, R. and DEL MAESTRO, A., Navigating the
transformation of the gas market, PwC (2016).
3. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (n.d.). Media. Retrieved from
ABC News 24: http://www.shell.com/media/speeches-and-articles/
articles-by-date/shell-ceo-ben-van-beurden-tv-interview-in-
australia.html
4. MCKENNA, M., WILCZYNSKI, H. and VANDERSHEE, D., Capital
Project Execution in the Oil and Gas Industry, Booz Allan
Hamilton Inc. (2006)
5. Emerson (n.d.), EmersonExchange365, Retrieved from http://
emersonexchange365.com/
6. Blue Canyon Partners, (2015), Enabling Top Quartile Project
Performance .
7. MANYIKA, J. et al, The Internet of Things: Mapping the Value
Beyond the Hype, pp. 75 81, Mckinsey & Company, (2015).
8. MARTINOTTI, S., NOLTEN, J. and STEINSB, J. A., Digitizing oil
and gas production, McKinsey & Company, (2014), http://www.
mckinsey.com/industries/oil-and-gas/our-insights/digitizing-oil-
and-gas-production
 Achieving
cryogenic
pump
RELIABILITY

Yousef Jarrah, Toshi Hayashi, and Daniel

McInnis, Nikkiso Cryo Inc., USA, review
typical roller bearing profiles.
ryogenic pumps are essential components of liquefaction, storage,

C transportation, regasification, and distribution systems of liquefied gases,

such as LNG. Therefore, end users expect high performance and reliability,
requiring operation for up to 40 000 hr without service or maintenance. The growth
in utilising LNG as a transportation fuel will further increase the need for enhanced
pump reliability and safety, especially as new functional requirements emerge due to
variations in quantity in transit, frequency of fuelling, and supply infrastructure.
As shown in Figure 1, vertically-oriented cryogenic pumps are structurally and
functionally complex. They operate at extremely cold temperatures with a
submerged motor and may consist of up to 30 stages stacked around a long shaft.
The mass profile along the axis of rotation is non-uniform because of concentration
of mass near the top due to a heavy electric motor. Secondary flows are extracted

25
 from the main flow and delivered into
narrow passages in order to
continuously cool the motor and
bearings, and to obtain proper axial
thrust balancing. The rotordynamic
response is different from gas-based
turbomachines because the mass of
the process liquid and hydrodynamic
instabilities must be accounted for.
Finally, stabilising mechanisms must
be implemented to keep the rotating
assembly physically constrained over
the entire pump lifecycle. Therefore,
essential to pump function and
durability is the bearing system, which
is deployed to restrain axial and
lateral movements due to
rotation-induced vibratory modes.
Axial thrust devices are fitted to
transmit the build-up of hydraulic
forces into the housing; otherwise, the
rotating assembly would slide axially Figure 1. Typical cryogenic pump
towards the pump inlet. Axial thrusts,
with strong variations occurring during
start-up as pressure profiles throughout
are being established, can give rise to axial
vibrations with unique frequencies and
resonances. To achieve proper balance and
to eliminate the need for thrust bearings,
Nikkiso Cryo Inc. (NCI) pumps are designed
such that axial displacements are produced
and balanced by hydraulic processes, and a
balance drum is utilised to restrain
movements at all operating conditions.
Lateral vibrations are perpendicular to
the axis of rotation and, if not properly
controlled, can become excessive and
cause bearing wear and even rotor contact
with stationary parts. In order to constrain
lateral displacements, the company
positions displacement inhibitors around
the rotating assembly, such as roller
bearings, journal bearings (also called
bushings), and wear rings. The purpose of
this article is to review typical roller
bearing profiles, which are utilised to
maintain structural integrity by hindering
growth in amplitudes of lateral vibrational
modes.
Hydro-mechanical Figure 2. Roller bearings
differentiators distribution. (1)
The dynamics of the pump are different
from that of other rotating equipment, such
as gas turbines and air-separation turboexpanders. Pumps
run at low frequencies (speeds up to 8000 RPM), while
turbomachines with gas as the process fluid usually run at
high frequencies (speeds up to 200 000 RPM). The pump
liquid is incompressible, and so hydrodynamic instabilities
such as cavitation and rotating stall are felt immediately
throughout the pumping system. The liquid density is high,
26 February 2017
so its mass may not be neglected.
For example, the LNG-to-air density
ratio is 367. The vertical orientation
of the cryogenic pump is stabilising
because the equilibrium position of
the rotating assembly, the position
with the minimum potential energy,
is when the pump is exactly vertical.
Perturbations swaying the centre of
the shaft from the upright position
will be resisted by the action of
gravity.
The mechanical and
hydrodynamic differences are relevant
to structural stability, and may not be
trivialised or ignored. For example,
the primary kinetic energy (KE) of the
rotating assembly is proportional to
the square of the speed. Therefore,
going from a multi-stage LNG pump
running at 5000 RPM to a multi-stage
gas compressor of equal mass but
running at 100 000 RPM, would
increase the KE by a factor of 400.
Because a tiny (less than 1%) portion
of the primary KE is supplied to create-and-
maintain the secondary vibratory modes, it is
clear that the energy available to feed and
sustain the vibration energy is relatively low
for cryogenic pumps.
Fundamental
rotordynamics
At the most fundamental level, the rotation
generates instability modes or disturbances
with discrete frequencies and mode shapes.
Once born and depending on the rotational
speed, the amplitude of the disturbances can
grow to undesirable levels. The continuous
supply of energy tends to sustain the
disturbances, while design mechanisms are
implemented to prevent and/or minimise
their growth rates. This competition
determines the structural quality of the
pump. Without proper bearing distribution,
the amplitudes of the instability modes grow
and, in rare cases, can cause contact between
the rotating and stationary parts due to large
lateral displacements. However, an optimised
distribution of bearings will hinder the
instabilitys rate of growth, and limit the
maximum possible displacements to levels
well below design clearances.
Rotordynamics codes, where the rotating
assembly is converted into a lumped parameter mass model,
are utilised to predict interactions between rotor natural
frequencies, critical rotational speeds, stiffness, design
clearances, and damping as functions of different
distributions of journal bearings, roller bearings, and wear
rings along the axis of rotation. The codes determine
whether or not the selected roller bearing distribution
sufficiently minimises lateral displacements, especially near
the operating speed.
The natural frequencies of the pump are determined by
many factors, but two major factors, stiffness and damping,
are provided by the shaft supports along the axis of rotation.
By adding stiffness to the design, natural frequencies move to
higher operating ranges. By adding damping, the effects of
the natural frequencies are reduced. Roller bearings can be
moved around or added to the design to adjust mode shapes
or move natural frequencies. The main providers of damping
in submerged cryogenic pumps are the wear rings and
balance drum seals, which get their damping from a pressure
drop across the sealing surface.
Another provider of both stiffness and damping are the
journal bearings, which unlike wear rings and the balance
drum seal, gain their stiffness and damping through
hydrodynamic effects rather than a pressure drop across the
sealing surface. These effects become present when a radial
force from the shaft creates an increase in pressure on one
side of the journal bearing moving it back to the centre, thus
creating the stabilising effects of stiffness and damping. Due
to the smaller diameters of the journal bearings and minor
radial forces present in vertical machines, the stiffness and
damping values provided from journal bearings are relatively
low, but still play a role in controlling the critical speeds of
the rotating assembly.
Using these supports, the goal is to have a subcritical
design, meaning that the operating speed or speed range is
below the first natural frequency. However, this is not always
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achievable. In some instances, the natural frequencies
intersect with the operating speed or fall inside an operating
speed range. When a natural frequency of the rotating
assembly is reached by the operating speed of the pump and
a sharp spike in radial displacement occurs, which would be a
case of insufficient damping, it is defined as a lateral critical
speed. These lateral critical speeds are not always a problem,
as they can be controlled with sufficient damping, which
limits the shaft displacements to acceptable levels.
Occasionally, a design may have insufficient damping, which
warrants modifications to provide additional damping to
allow pump operation near a critical speed without excessive
vibration. Obviously, the preferred solution would be to avoid
dealing with critical speeds in the first place, which is why
NCI offers three distinct design solutions, which help
navigate the critical speeds away from the operating speeds
early in the design stage.
Distribution one
For some applications, the bearing profile shown in Figure 2
is selected. The roller bearing structure consists of only two
motor bearings one above and one below the motor. This
configuration can be applied successfully even in large high
pressure pumps. The success of this bearing distribution is
due to the shorter hydraulic stack length and tighter wear
ring and journal bearing clearances that are present in these
designs. The shorter stack length of the housings results in
a shorter pump shaft, which, in turn, increases the natural
frequencies of the shaft assembly. The tighter seal clearances

862IILFH 

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 create higher stiffness and damping.
The higher stiffness generated by the
tight clearances directly increases
the natural frequencies, while the
damping helps reduce the shaft
displacements.
Distribution two
For some applications, the bearing
profile shown in Figure 3 is selected.
The roller bearing structure consists
of two motor bearings plus one
bearing at the extreme lower end.
In some cases, the pump design is
analysed and a larger-than-acceptable
displacement is found near the
inducer end of the pump. Some
solutions include reducing the mass
of the inducer, thickening the pump
shaft, or adding a bearing near the end
of the shaft. Reducing the mass of the
inducer is sometimes an option, but
thickening the pump shaft is generally
a considerable design change that
is uncommon due to hydraulic
standardisations and increased cost.
Figure 3. Roller bearings
The simplest and most robust option distribution. (2)
is to add a small roller bearing at
the end of the pump shaft, typically
between the inducer and the first
impeller stage.
Distribution three
For some applications, the bearing
profile shown in Figure 4 is selected.
The roller bearing structure consists
of two motor bearings plus an
additional roller bearing every four
to six stages along the pump shaft.
This design option is usually selected
for high pressure pumps with a large
number of stages, which, in turn,
require a long shaft. Increasing the
number of bearings along the pump
shaft provides additional support,
thus making the design robust and
able to operate for long periods
of time without maintenance. This
profile is usually selected for high
Figure 4. Roller bearing distribution. (3)
pressure pumps because long shafts
are inherently receptive to deflection,
operating clearances tend to increase
at a faster rate during the pump lifecycle, and the
separation between the motor-rotor centre of mass and the
rotating assembly centre of mass is increased.
Energy fundamentals
The governing equations of motion do not permit absolute
and coherent stability of the rotating assembly because,
once rotation is initiated, a finite amount of the primary
rotational KE is transferred into a secondary work-type
28 February 2017
form of energy; the total energy of
the system is the sum of the primary
and the potentially destabilising
secondary. The secondary vibrational
energy, while less than 1% of
the sum, manifests in leading to
coherent patterns or mode shapes
at discrete frequencies in the form
of whirl, wobble, orbits, rolling, or
displacements. The cellular-type
motions vary along the axial, radial,
and circumferential directions and, if
not restrained, can grow in amplitude
into unacceptable levels. The function
of the bearing system is to prevent or
hinder the growth of these secondary
instability modes.
Physics allows the instability
modes to be established, while
bearings control and limit the
maximum distortions that these
modes can cause. In other words, if
the destabilising modes are
considered as patterns of
perturbations circulating the axis of
rotation, then proper positioning of
bearings render the axis of rotation as
an attractor, which means that the
trajectories of the instability modes
are prevented from causing large
shaft displacements, and a steady
state motion is maintained.
The mechanism for the generation
and subsequent containment of the
instability modes is simple. The
electric motor transmits power into
the shaft, which, in turn, causes the
establishment of primary rotational
kinetic energy (big whorls). A tiny
amount of energy is then transmitted
into instability modes or wavy-type
disturbances (little whorls), which
could, depending on the magnitude of
the rotational speed, grow in
amplitude and cause large shaft
movements. It is not possible to
prevent the formation of the
instability modes, but it is possible to
hinder their growth by implementing
bearing profile unique to the pump
mass profile and functional
requirements.
Conclusion
The preferred distribution of roller bearings depends on
pump requirements and operating speeds. To achieve
stability of the rotating assembly at all operating speeds,
and accounting for potential future enlargements of
geometric clearances, which may occur over the pump
lifecycle, NCI customises, optimises, and precisely positions a
select number of roller bearings along the pump shaft.
HOLD THE LINE
Richard Fawcett, Dynaflow Research
Group, the Netherlands, looks at the
importance of designing for pressure
surges in an LNG bunkering line.

ressure surge represents a real risk to a piping

P system. Figure 1 shows two failures that have

occurred due to surge and the accompanying
unbalanced forces not being adequately accounted for
at the design stage. Figure 1 (a) shows a case where the
pipe shoe has fallen from the concrete supports, whilst
Figure 1 (b) shows an extreme case where a pipe has
been ruptured.
This article aims to explain the risks of surge for an
LNG bunkering line.

What is a transient upset

scenario?
Every deviation from steady state flow conditions, such
as the closure and opening of valves, leads to transient
fluctuations in the flowrate and pressure, which, with

29

Figure 1. Failures in steel piping due to surge.
Figure 2. Pressure change after a transient upset.
Figure 3. Pressure surge variation with valve closure
duration.
30 February 2017
time, will even out to a new steady state scenario. If the
change is brought about slowly for instance, by the
controlled opening of a valve then the transient state can
be described as quasi-static. If, however, the change is brought
about quickly the sudden trip of a pump, for example then
large amplitude pressure transients will be created on top of
the quasi-steady trend, as shown in Figure 2.
The maximum amplitude of the pressure surge due to
stopping a fluid column (e.g. due to closing a valve) can be
found according to the so called Joukowski relationship
shown in Equation 1 (where p is the density, c is the speed of
sound and v is the velocity of the approaching flow). For an
LNG bunkering flow with a velocity of 3 m/sec., a density of
450 kg/m3 and a wave speed in LNG of 1400 m/sec., the
Joukowski pressure rise is equal to 19 bar.
Equation 1: P = p . c . v
If a system is sufficiently short, or the closing time
sufficiently long, the finite closing time of a valve means that
the Joukowski maximum will not be reached. In Figure 3, the
impact of altering the valve closure duration for a DN350
pipe is shown. It can be seen that the maximum pressure
decreases with increased valve closure duration.
Vibrations can occur in the piping
Potential failures due to pressure surge are not only limited
to the absolute maximum pressure. The pressure surge
travels upstream through the piping at the speed of sound. As
illustrated in Figure 4, at the time T1, a pressure imbalance
arises, which causes an unbalanced force to be generated,
which acts towards elbow B. At time T2, the pressure at
elbow A is larger and there is a net force in the opposite
direction.
The natural resonance frequencies of a piping system can
lie in the same range as the frequencies associated with the
Figure 4. Unbalanced forces arising between an elbow pair.
passage of the pressure surge back and forth through the
system. By exciting a mechanical resonance mode, there is the
possibility of an amplified system response. This amplification
may exceed the typical assumed amplification factor of two by
an order of magnitude. Such a system response may lead to
rupture of the piping, or overloading of the pipe supports.

Surge in an LNG bunkering line

The model built of a typical LNG ship bunkering line is shown
in Figure 5. The line branches off from an existing bunkering
line and passes through a booster pump. The pressure
downstream of the booster pump is 9 bar. A check valve is
located downstream of the pump to prevent backflow during
the transient scenarios.
The bunkering line has a length of 600 m and is made of
vacuum insulated piping. The PN16 rated bunkering line has a
maximum allowable pressure for transient scenarios of
17.6 barg. Two fast closing valves are located in the loading
arm area: one is the emergency shutdown (ESD) valve
immediately upstream of the loading arm and the second is
the emergency release coupling (ERC) at the end of loading
arm where it connects to the ship.
Pressure surge due to tripping the
booster pump
Tripping the booster pump leads to a pressure drop through
the entire line. How quickly the pressure drops depends on
the rotational inertia of the pump impeller combined with
the fluid in the pump housing. The decrease in pressure then
travels downstream through the bunkering line to the loading
Figure 5. A typical LNG ship bunkering line.
arm at the wave speed (approximately 1400 m/sec. for an LNG
system). In Figure 6, the maximum and minimum pressures
that occur along the bunkering line due to the pump trip
can be seen. It is seen that the maximum pressure does not
exceed the line pressure rating and the minimum pressure
remains above the vapour pressure (0 barg) of the LNG.
The passage of the pressure wave through the bunkering
line causes a difference in pressure between the two ends of
a straight section of pipe. The pressure profile in Figure 6 at a
time of 0.3 sec. after valve closure is shown. Here it can be
seen that there is a pressure gradient of 4 bar for a length of
100 m. If a more abrupt pump stop were to occur, this would
result in a larger pressure gradient than in Figure 6.
The unbalanced forces that arise between elbow pairs,
due to the passage of the pressure wave, are shown in
Figure 7. Here, the maximum unbalanced force varies along

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 the length of the bunkering line. The overview of the forces
on the bunkering line shows that the longest straight lengths
between elbow pairs experience the largest loads. The
maximum unbalanced force arising is 20 kN and the axial
restraint should be appropriately sized.
Cavitation may occur in elevated
sections
Depending on the operating pressure in the bunkering line,
cavitation may occur in the elevated sections due to a pump
Figure 6. Pressure profile from pump to loading arm:
0.3 sec. after pump trip.
Figure 7. Unbalanced forces arising due to a pump trip.
32 February 2017
trip. When the line pressure is reduced by 3 bar (for instance,
if bunkering to a ship with a lower back pressure) for the
pump trip case shown in Figure 6, cavitation occurred in the
elevated section, as shown in Figure 8. Elevated sections
are the most sensitive to cavitation on account of their
lower hydrostatic pressure. As the pressure stabilises after a
transient scenario, the cavity will implode. If the cavity should
implode quickly, then large magnitude pressure waves are
generated that travel through the bunkering line.
To simulate the growth of the cavity, some multi-phase
capability is added to the solver through the Concentrated Air
Pocket (CAP) method. In this method, a pocket of air is added
to each node within the simulation. As the line pressure
reduces, this air pocket grows according to the ideal gas
equation. The expansion of this air pocket simulates the
growth of cavity. It can be seen from Figure 8 that the cavity
has grown to encompass 100% of the pipe cross-section.
In reality, the cavitation will also grow along the length of
the elevated section rather than be concentrated at a single
point. Such a distributed cavity can be important from a
hydrostatic perspective, but for a surge study, where the
maximum pressure due to implosion of the cavity is of
primary importance, such a concentrated cavity provides an
accurate measure.
Closure of the emergency
shutdown valve
An ESD valve (Figure 5) is located immediately upstream of
the loading arm. In normal operation, the closure of this ESD
valve is coupled with a pump trip. However, there is also a risk
(determined from the HAZOP study) that the pump would not
shut down as planned. Consequently, the case of ESD valve
closure with the pump continuing to run has to be considered.
The ESD valve closure duration is 12 sec. and the valve Cv
was 800 gpm.psi when fully open, where Cv is a measure of
the valve resistance to the passing fluid. In Figure 9, two
different valve Cv profiles are shown. The first assumes a
linear variation in the Cv as the valve is closed, whilst the
second includes the actual profile of valve Cv vs opening.
Importance of modelling the
valve resistance accurately
The transient pressure profile immediately upstream of the
ESD valve is shown in Figure 10, for both valve Cv profiles,
Figure 8. Cavitation in the elevated section.
 and the resulting pressure rises are presented in Surge in a bunkering line
Table 1. From Table 1, it can firstly be seen that having In this article, a typical surge study for an LNG bunkering
a closure duration of 12 sec. means that the maximum line has been explained using Dynaflow Research Groups
surge pressure is significantly less than the worst case BOSfluids surge analysis software. The likely surge
Joukowski peak expressed by Equation 1. scenarios in an LNG bunkering line are the tripping of
It can also been seen from Figure 10 and Table 1 the pump or the closure of an ESD valve. Both of these
that including the accurate Cv profile (the variation of scenarios can lead to excessive maximum pressures,
the valve resistance with opening fraction) significantly cavitation and/or large net forces on the piping. Here, it
impacts the calculated maximum surge pressure. The has been demonstrated how a computation simulation can
resulting pressure increase of 7 bar is less than 50% of be used to predict these effects and to show that adequate
that calculated with the unrealistic linear variation. protection mechanisms are in place. In doing so, a robust
Reviewing the closure curves in Figure 9, it is seen that LNG bunkering line from the perspective of pressure surge
the gradient in Cv at the point of complete valve closure can be ensured.
(0% opening) is smallest for the case with the actual Cv
profile. The majority of the throttling effect of a valve
Table 1. Pressure increase due to ESD closure
arises for the final 25% of valve travel. Consequently,
the rate of change of resistance (in other words, the Situation Pressure increase (bar)
change in Cv) at the end of valve travel is of critical
12 sec. linear Cv profile 18
importance in determining how quickly the approaching
flow is decelerated, as well as the resulting pressure 12 sec. with Cv profile 7
surge peak.
Worst case Joukowski peak 37
Double safety on emergency
release coupling
Figure 5 shows that an ERC is located at the end of
the loading arm. This valve closes in the event of an
emergency (i.e. the boat decoupling from the loading
arm should it begin to drift away) to stop LNG leaking
into the harbour.
The ERC closes in 6 sec. and, in normal operation,
both the ESD immediately upstream of the loading arm
should close and the pump should trip. To demonstrate
the robustness of the system, it was required to show
that the failure of one of the protection methods would
not lead to a dangerous situation.
It can be seen from Figure 11 that if only the ERC
on the loading arm is closed, the maximum surge
pressure easily exceeds the allowable pressure. It is
shown though that the bunkering line is adequately
protected from this occurring. From Figure 11, it can be
Figure 10. Pressure transients for the two emergency
seen that if only one of the two protection methods is shutdown (ESD) closure profiles.
functioning (either the tripping of the pump or the
closure of the ESD valve), then the maximum surge
pressure in the line remains within the rating pressure
of the system.

Figure 11. Effect of one or two protection methods failing

Figure 9. Valve closure profile. with emergency release coupling (ERC) closure.

February 2017 33
 Insulation for all

SEASONS
hether it is there to keep the cold in or to limit

W condensation, insulation has an important part

to play in the smooth running of any LNG facility.
Pipe insulation provides crucial protection at cryogenic
temperatures. It can also have a significant impact in other
operational areas, by improving thermal performance and
reducing costs. Even small details such as insulated pipe
supports can make a surprising difference to the energy
needed to run systems. This article explores how the right
insulation in the right place helps to safeguard workers,

34
 Carl Davison, Kingspan Industrial
Insulation, UK, explains how PIR
insulation can help improve
the energy efficiency
of LNG facilities.

provides an essential part of the LNG process, and enhances

energy efficiency.

The big chill

Cryogenic insulation is a fundamental element of the LNG
process. By restricting the amount of heat that can get
into pipework or equipment, insulation ensures that the
content within the pipe remains cold, reducing boil-off
rates. Insulation is a critical path activity, so the correct
choice of material, thickness and quality of the installation

35
 are essential. Any failure, damage or interference in the
performance or continuity of the insulation could be costly,
and in most locations where cryogenic insulation is installed
in an LNG plant, access is limited and restricted.
Polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation has proven credentials
for reliable performance in extreme temperatures. Exhibiting
all of the benefits of standard rigid polyurethane insulation,
cryogenic PIR has been developed to withstand temperatures
as low as -200C/-328F. As well as this robust performance
in the face of thermal stress, other characteristics include
good fire resistance and compressive strength (relative to the
density supplied).
Figure 1. Pipe insulation is a critical path activity, so the
correct choice of material, thickness and the quality of the
installation are all essential.
Figure 2. The different benefits of pipe insulation are
self-evident, ranging from an essential part of the LNG
production process to an exercise in conserving energy and
reducing running costs.
36 February 2017
PIR is a versatile insulation material, with resistance to
moisture absorption and a high strength to density ratio. It is
lightweight and easy to transport, handle and install. Its
closed cell structure allows it to offer a 25-year time averaged
aged thermal conductivity as low as
0.021 W/mK / 0.15 Btuin./hrft2F for cryogenic insulation
applications. In turn, this allows specified thermal
performance standards to be achieved with a minimal
thickness of insulation. Combined with the durability of rigid
PIR insulation, this is particularly significant where
installation is required in confined spaces.
The excellent thermal performance of rigid PIR insulation
is a result of the 90% (or greater) closed cell content, as well
as the thermal performance of the blowing agent within the
cells. The CFC and HCFC free blowing agent within the cells
provides resistance to the conduction of heat through the
insulation. The blowing agent typically used in rigid PIR
insulation materials has a thermal conductivity up to 45%
lower than air. When combined with the small, uniform,
structure of the cells, this effectively limits the transfer of
heat across the insulation.
Some like it hot
PIR pipe insulation is not just about cryogenic and low
temperature applications. Manufacturers can offer PIR
insulation products suitable for processes operating between
the temperature range of -180C to +200C. When used at
high temperatures, the insulation maintains its closed cell
content, dimensional stability and thermal performance
throughout its service life, and will not deteriorate in
applications where pipework is steam cleaned. In fact,
you will find external PIR insulation performing across all
kinds of applications in the petrochemical and gas process
engineering industries.
When it comes to fire safety, the material also performs
well, achieving ASTM E84 Flame Spread Index of less than 25,
and a European Reaction to Fire classification of D/DL-s3,d0
or better to EN 13501-1. As a thermoset insulant, it will not
melt, run or drip in the event of a fire. The densely
cross-linked structure makes it difficult to ignite, and when
subjected to fire, it simply chars, forming a strong
carbonaceous layer that limits further flame spread and is
self-extinguishing.
In a supporting role
The different benefits of pipe insulation are self-evident,
ranging from an essential part of the LNG production process
to an exercise in conserving energy and reducing running
costs. But there is another aspect of pipe insulation that is
not always given due consideration how to prevent thermal
bridging and unwanted heat gain or loss through the pipe
supports themselves. There are several ways of dealing with
this issue, but their effectiveness varies widely.
An effective solution is to use insulated pipe support
inserts, which work by isolating the pipework from the pipe
support, limiting heat transfer to and from the pipework
system. They also allow for a continuous vapour barrier to be
carried through the support system, reducing the risk of
condensation. Insulation compression, which can affect overall
performance, is another issue that high density inserts can
help to avert. Where pipework is located externally, the use of
insulated pipe support inserts allows cladding to be carried
continually through the support system, enhancing the
weather protection of the overall pipework system.
Guidance within BS 5970:2012 makes specific reference
to insulation inside the vapour barrier should be load
bearing and of the same or compatible material as the
insulation system. Where this is not achieved, the specifier
would have to source an adhesive that was compatible with
both the support insulation and the general insulation.
PIR manufacturers can offer a complete insulation system
comprising high performance insulation and high density
pipe insulation supports in a range of densities from
80 kg/m3 to 320 kg/m3.
Where pipe support inserts are of differing materials to
the insulation system, it is important to consider the thermal
performance of the support insulation, and ensure that the
pipe support itself is not at a temperature that would present
a risk of personal injury.
It is also noted that the use of insulated pipe support
inserts allows maintenance of the support to be carried out
without disturbing the pipe insulation itself, again minimising
potential health and safety issues, the risk of heat loss or
gain, and ensuring continuous running of the system.
For tank bottom applications, rigid PIR insulation is
available in densities in the range 120 kg/m3 to 160 kg/m3.
With a combination of strength and flexibility alongside
excellent thermal performance, PIR in tank bottom
applications can provide an alternative solution to traditional
insulation choices. The compressive behaviour of rigid PIR
insulation is capable of handling imperfections such as
welding joints in tank bottoms that may lead to unstable
compressive behaviour in more brittle rigid insulation
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materials. For rigid PIR insulation products that conform to
EN 14620-4, design loads for tank bottom and ring beam
insulation can be well within the scope of PIR, and the
long-term compressive behaviour is such that creep effects
are limited.
A tank bottom insulated with rigid PIR insulation benefits
from the thermal conductivity of PIR. In theory, this could
result in thinner insulation being installed. In practice, the
benefit is an improvement in the thermal performance of the
tank, with reductions in heat gain of 20% or more readily
achievable in the temperature range of cryogenic tank
bottom insulation, in addition to the benefit of larger block
sizes that are quicker to install with a reduced risk of
breakage.
Conclusion
Rigid PIR pipe insulation performs well in the different
applications that can be found across the LNG industry. From
maintaining crucial cryogenic temperatures to reducing heat
energy costs, these versatile insulants have proven their worth
through many years of consistent performance in the field,
backed by rigorous testing.
Relatively small details, such as installing rigid PIR
insulated pipe supports, can make a significant difference to
the efficient running of a plant, the effectiveness of
processes, and the safety of employees.
As the insulation industry continues to develop and
improve existing manufacturing technology, there will be
more benefits in terms of enhanced thermal efficiency, fire
safety performance, and the range of rigid PIR insulation
products on offer for LNG applications.
 Quench
THE FLARE

Christian Belting-Clar and

Leonid Bleicher, Dresser-Rand
business, part of Siemens
Power & Gas Division, Germany,
explain how to minimise BOG
flaring by LNG quenching.
ue to the cryogenic conditions in

D
(BOG).
LNG storage tanks, LNG continuously
evaporates in the form of boil-off gas

Minimising the loss of BOG while

simultaneously avoiding flaring is not an easy
process. BOG volume flow and mass flow in an
LNG plant fluctuate depending on either the
amount of BOG produced (mass flow
fluctuation), or the fluctuation in the
compressor inlet temperature.
Mass flow fluctuation determines the
number of compressor trains required for the
plants BOG service. Temperature fluctuations
lead to variation in volume flow and can also

39
 determine the size and number of compressors, but the
required head pressure needed to maintain constant outlet
pressure serves as the most critical influence in decision
making.
Each of these characteristics significantly influence the
optimised selection of a compressor in BOG duty.
By understanding the different conditions required for
an LNG plant in an early project phase, and knowing the
final overall plant capacity target along with potential
expansion phases, the best rotating equipment
configuration can be determined when considering criteria
for both CAPEX and OPEX.
Flaring
Flaring and venting of LNG are still practiced in
areas where local gas markets or gas transportation
infrastructure are lacking, or where the gas source itself
is too small or contaminated with other incombustible
gases. However, as a general rule, gas flaring should be
minimised or avoided to the extent possible.
Figure 1. The application range of different compressor types.
Figure 2. Test results for the peak volume of a boil-off gas (BOG) compressor
arrangement of 3 x 33%.
40 February 2017
At the same time, flaring is recognised as a vital and
integral part of the safe operation across the entire LNG
value chain.
During normal continuous LNG operation, virtually no
flaring is required, but it is a necessary process step if gas
needs to be evacuated out of the processing system for
safety reasons.
Flaring is often necessary during LNG plant
commissioning, plant shutdowns for LNG compressor train
maintenance when the static holding BOG flow cannot be
avoided, or emergency situations when the plant needs to
be depressurised quickly.
However, for operational situations, such as cool-down
periods, BOG flaring would not be required when applying
the appropriate state-of-the-art BOG compressor
technology.
LNG quenching is an effective way to decrease gas
temperatures that avoids flaring. By decreasing gas
temperature, compressors are capable of compressing the
BOG and generating the process pressure required for
fuelling.
LNG quenching working
principle
It is critically important to maintain the
cryogenic temperatures required for BOG
compression to meet the constant fuel gas
pressure requirement in the fuel gas system.
When BOG temperatures start to increase, the
compression head starts to decrease. This effect
can be overcome by cooling the inlet flow by
using the evaporation heat of cryogenic LNG
liquid. By spraying cryogenic LNG (approximately
5% of the LNG) into the inlet flow prior to the
knock-out drum, these droplets then evaporate
and cause the remaining BOG to cool back down
to -150C or colder (the initial compressor design
temperature).
BOG compressors today are optimised for a
broad range of low to high BOG flows (occurring
in the LNG plant from approximately
0.5 million tpy to 10 million tpy),
and are capable of automatic
start/stop operation from ambient,
as well as cold, conditions with no
cool-down required. Thus, LNG
quench is a viable option to reduce
start-up time of a BOG compressor
in warm stand-by. Due to the
frequent BOG compressor start/stop
required during direct online
start-up in cryogenic conditions, the
compressor runs in bypass until
100% speed is reached. This occurs
when the inlet guide vanes (IGVs)
increase the flow and pressure.
LNG quenching serves as a
useful alternative to flaring and can
also be used to optimise equipment
count and configuration.
Required features of a with minimum) recycle flow. That is, if recycle is required
compressor or other warm operating conditions are required due to
LNG plants require compressors that are capable of the suction temperature being adjusted by LNG
direct online start-up operation in order to avoid static quenching.
cool-down and thus eliminate the need for gas flaring. Direct online start/stop capability with no required
These compressors will provide low temperature operation static precooling eliminates the need for flaring. Some
with intermittent stop/start service. future LNG plants are being planned with consideration
Due to the nature of the BOG service and the required for future expansions, which would cause more BOG
intermittent (start/stop) operation, the compressor is flow.
periodically exposed to very low suction temperatures The key is to design BOG compressors and a concept
(160C), as well as to ambient and even high discharge solution capable of handling all expansion phases from
temperatures. The casing design temperature window the very beginning. This requires close collaboration
ranges from -170C to 240C. between the engineering, procurement and construction
Depending on the different fuel gas pressure (EPC) contractor and compressor manufacturer at an
requirements ranging from 35 bar up to 55 bar, Figure 1 early front end engineering and design (FEED) stage.
shows the compressor casing that is required for a specific These meetings should involve the process engineering
duty; whether a single-casing, tandem or even and rotating equipment experts.
triple-casing BOG compressor. The biggest impact on overall project costs takes
When BOG is used to supply fuel gas, the outlet place in the early project stage.
pressure is always a required
constant value. BOG mass flow
coming out of the process
undergoes large fluctuation
regarding flow and suction
temperature. Hence, when inlet flow
temperature varies, more head is
required.
Warm operating points
sometimes need three casings at a
3 x 33% compressor arrangement in
terms of volume. With LNG
quenching and IGV control, all
operating points can be forced into
the compressor performance map.
Thus, flaring can almost be
completely avoided during normal
operation and allow for a 2 x 50%
compressor train arrangement. Figure 3. A compressor arrangement of 3 x 33% that shows two compressors that run
constantly in parallel and require improved process optimisation.
IGV control allows for the
largest turndown, highest
process flexibility, and
broadest possible
operating range with no
flaring. The volume flow
fluctuations are covered
by variable IGVs providing
maximum compressor
turndown compared to all
other available
turbocompressor control
options.
The individual single
compressor train
performance maps and
the overlapping
performance maps of two
units running in parallel
will guarantee that all
Figure 4. By reducing the suction temperature of the loading cool-down operating point, the
operating points will be compressor size is reduced and all other operating points would run at better efficiency points.
covered without any (or

February 2017 41
 In most modern, large scale LNG plants, BOG and end How the amount of quenching
flash gas (EFG) are used to fuel the mechanical drive gas affects the compressor concept
turbines, which propel the large main refrigeration gas Figure 2 shows an example of an LNG BOG project profile
compressors and/or power generator sets. over time with one almost constant BOG flow called
Using a target/design approach will help to gather all holding and a characteristic peak in BOG volume flow
BOG compressor operating points where there is no or during ship loading.
minimum flaring and/or no or minimum LNG quench. The The BOG profile and 3 x 33% overlapping BOG
goal of the approach is to find the best balance between compressor performance maps feature different IGV
the amount of LNG quench and added value. settings. In this case, BOG is used as gas turbine fuel and,
therefore, it is essential
that pressure is always
achieved.
The BOG compressor
design is determined by
the operating point
(marked red in Figure 2)
being the warm point.
The holding operating
point (black dot) is the
main operating point and,
therefore, should run at
good efficiency without
any bypass flow and LNG
quench. The ship loading
operating point (blue dot)
represents the peak
volume flow, which occurs
frequently and is covered
by starting another BOG
compressor train.
Figure 5. BOG compressor operating points have been plotted over the flow range and Unfortunately in this
compressor head.
model, the current BOG
compressor design is
dictated by the ship
Table 1. Reduced power requirements when changing to a 2 x 50% compressor train loading cool-down
arrangement
operating point (red dot
Power evaluation 3 x 33% solution Power evaluation 2 x 50% solution in Figure 2), which shows
Loading cool-down 3 x 9159 kW= 27 477 kW 2 x 13 480 kW = 26 960 kW a relatively high warm
suction temperature. The
Holding 2 x 9512 kW = 19 024 kW 1 x 17 289 kW warm suction temperature
causes large gas volume
flow to the compressor
Table 2. Reduced power requirements when changing to a 2 x 50% compressor train and high compressor
arrangement
motor coupling power.
BOG flow from storage Minimum compressor flow available In addition, the main
Mass flow (kg/hr) 5000 14 500 operating point (holding)
is located far down in the
Temperature C -160 -141 performance maps and is,
therefore, running at
Pressure (bar) 1.05 With 34 bar to be achieved
reduced efficiencies.
Using a compressor
design for up to a
Table 3. Achieving 34 bar compressor duty for low flow requires the optimisation of recycle and
quench flow maximum of -145C,
with performance
BOG flow from storage
Minimum compressor flow Recycle Quench controlled by an IGV,
available flow flow
Figure 3 shows two
Mass flow (kg/hr) 5000 14 500 6000 3500 compressors running
constantly in parallel.
Temperature C -160 -141 39.4 -161 The BOG is a stand-by
with only one train
Pressure (bar) 1.05 With 34 bar to be achieved 1.05 1.05
running, and features

42 February 2017
 both bypass and LNG quench. The red point determines
the design point, ensuring that cool-down operations
occur with three trains. BOG, in this instance, is used as
fuel for the gas turbine. Hence all points need to ensure
the 35 55 bar head required. Additionally, an alternate
head is required due to the different suction temperature.
Since the loading cool-down operating points only
occur when warm ships have to be loaded and takes place
only occasionally for a short time period, it was
determined that process optimisation would reduce or
equalise the suction temperature for loading cool-down by
adding some LNG quench. Further quench would help to
bring down the red point.
Doing this would reduce the maximum volume flow,
requiring smaller compressor casings and reduced
coupling power. It would also ensure that all operating
points would be located much closer to each other
running at optimal efficiencies.
Based on the described process optimisation using
minor LNG quench for the loading cool-down operating
point, an alternate compressor arrangement of 2 x 50%
should be used instead of a 3 x 33% arrangement.
This process simplification solution would ensure
minimum equipment count, lowest installation cost, and
maximum operating safety.
Using this new model (shown in Figure 4), a 1 x 50%
BOG compressor train is running during holding. During
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ship loading mode (offloading), the second 50%
compressor train has started and is running in parallel
at approximately once per week for 14 16 hours. The
required volume flow and compressor head adjustments
are achieved via a variable IGV under load sharing mode
and BOG is used as fuel gas for the turbines.
BOG stand-by, which occurs only when all LNG
production trains are on stop mode, can be operated
with bypass and LNG quench. By doing so, all main
operating points are located well within the IGV
performance map without the need for recycle and only
minimal LNG quench. This ensures the best operating
efficiency.
In Figure 5, both of the specified BOG compressor
operating points have been plotted over the flow range
and the compressor head (the discharge pressure).
This example shows that XY% more LNG quench
leads to the reduction of one BOG train from 3 x 33% to
2 x 50%. There is also a reduced power requirement with
this change, as shown in Table 1.
How the amount of quenching
helps avoid flaring
After showing how a high-flow/high-head operating
point determines a compressor design point, it is
important to determine how a holding point with low
flow might determine the compressor design point.
 A study conducted at another LNG plant (approximately minimum LNG quench flow was determined. Figure 6
5 million tpy) showed that there was low flow from the visualises the results of this complex integrated calculation.
storage tanks at reduced plant capacity. The initial The black dot in Figure 7 represents the compressor
compressor selection for this plant was based upon a rated point determined by major loading operating points.
2 x 50% configuration, which did not capture the low flow The blue dot represents a recycle flow requirement that
point within the combined or stand-alone performance must either be flared or captured by the compressor
envelope. Further, is was important to maintain the 2 x 50% performance envelope to ensure feedback into the fuel gas
compressor architecture and avoid flaring the BOG header at the required fuel gas pressure level of 34 bar.
minimum flow since it cannot be operated within the In order to operate at this point, a recycle flow of
compressor, nor be used at atmospheric pressure level. 9500 tph would be required. Since the recycle flow has a
Table 2 shows the minimum compressor flow available for temperature of 39C, it would heat up the compressor inlet
the project. flow to -42.5C. Due to this temperature increase, the
Since it was fundamentally important to avoid flaring compressor would need to transfer significantly higher
the minimum BOG flow, it was critical to determine the head to achieve 34 bar. This requirement could not be
proportion of mass flows between the given BOG flow and realised with the given compressor design and
variable recycle and quench flows. This would help to arrangement.
capture the point within the given compressor performance The green dot operating point in Figure 7 can be
envelope using a 2 x 50% architecture. achieved when recycle and quench flow is optimised in
An integrated process and compressor performance such a way that compressor minimum flow is reached,
simulation was conducted to capture the process duty. while the temperature ensures that the compressor duty
Within this combined calculation, the corresponding can achieve 34 bar. The results of the calculation are
maximum recycle flow that can be quenched with a summarised in Table 3.
With a 2 x 50% BOG
compressor arrangement,
BOG flaring can be
avoided with an
off-design duty point of
5 tph a point which
seldom requires
compressor operation.
From a CAPEX
perspective, it does not
make sense to switch to a
3 x 33% architecture
where flaring of 5 tph
BOG is unacceptable. With
an allowance of 3.5 tph,
LNG quench flaring of
Figure 6. The visual representation of a compressor performance simulation to capture process
duty. 5 tph can be avoided
without introducing a
3 x 33% compressor
arrangement.

Conclusion
Planning in advance to
utilise LNG quenching
would be an effective
way to reduce gas
temperatures and avoid
flaring. Determining
the best rotating
equipment configuration
at a new LNG plant can
be determined when
considering all of the
existing CAPEX and OPEX.
Different conditions
required for an LNG plant
should be determined at
an early project phase
in order to choose the
Figure 7. The stepwise shift of the operating point in the compressor performance envelope. ideal rotating equipment
configuration.

44 February 2017
Quench
control
Wayne Jacobson,
Compressor Controls
Corp. (CCC), USA,
outlines the
advantages of
integrated quench
controls for LNG
refrigeration
compressors.

Q uench
control is
often used in LNG
applications where cooling of the hot
recycle gas is achieved by direct mixing of a
cold multi-phase gas/liquid. The liquids used for
quenching are already produced by operation of
the refrigeration compressor, making the cooling
liquid available for quench. Figure 1 shows a
piping schematic for quench control on the first
side-stream of a three-stage LNG propane
refrigeration compressor.

45

Figure 1. Typical antisurge piping that utilises quench flow to cool the stream.
Figure 2. P-h diagram illustrating the quench control line.
If the control line is too far to the right, the inlet to the stage
overheats. If the control line is too far to the left, the inlet
drum accumulates liquid and threatens damage.
Temperature control
Temperature control with two-phase mixtures can be
difficult. The main problem is that the temperature of
a two-phase mixture (at equilibrium) depends on the
pressure. Any heat addition/removal only changes the
quality of the mixture and not the temperature. In real
systems, the mixtures are separated, so the temperatures
are not so fixed. In transient cases, the gas temperature
in the upper portion of the separator vessel can change.
However, the resistance for temperature change still
pivots around the saturation/dew point.
In the case of quench control, if the temperature set
point is only slightly below the saturation point, then the
effect is that quench will need to be added in large
46 February 2017
amounts until the mixture
is subcooled.
Over-quenching, in this
case, unnecessarily draws
liquids from the
accumulator and increases
the amount of horsepower
required. More importantly,
over-quenching has the
risk of shutting the
machine down as the
liquid level in the
separator drum rises.
If the temperature set
point is above the dew
point, then the system is
more manageable. The hot
recycle will superheat the
saturated vapours in the
upper portion of the separator vessel. So the quench flow
reduces the amount of superheating, but can still
influence the temperature because the stream is no
longer saturated. Therefore, the key to quench control is
to set the temperature greater than the saturation point
but low enough to prevent the discharge temperature
from climbing too high.
Piping considerations
Some refrigeration compressor systems need quench more
than others. If the recycle path is a direct connection from
the discharge to suction (i.e. hot bypass), then quench
will be necessary. However, sometimes the antisurge
recycle will either pass over the top of the liquids in the
separator drum, or, in some cases, will bubble up through
the bottom. When the recycle gas takes either of these
routes, the hot gas transfers energy to the surface liquids.
In this case, the only time that quench is required is
during a warm start-up (e.g. when the entire system is at
ambient temperature).
Some refrigeration systems de-superheat the
discharge gas before using it for recycle. In other words,
after the gas is compressed, just enough heat is removed
(through an air/fin exchanger) so that the gas is above
ambient temperature. The resulting expanded recycle gas
is still superheated at the inlet, but not as much as if the
immediate discharge gas was used. The end result is that
quench is not used and the design relies on the
effectiveness of the de-superheater to prevent the system
from overheating.
Simple PID quench control
In its simplest form, a quench controller is a standard
proportional integral derivative (PID) loop that maintains
a given temperature at the set point by opening and
closing a control valve to maintain the controlled
temperature. However, this simple PID loop strategy
has its shortcomings. The main problem is that for any
gas, the set point temperature of the quench controller
depends on the pressure of the cooled stream. Since the
pressure changes continuously, the set point needs to be
continually adjusted as the operating pressure changes.
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 Another shortcoming of the standard PID loop
approach is its sluggishness. The quench loop dynamics
will be slow relative to that of the pressure and flow
controllers. The hot recycle flow demand will change
rapidly as flow stability decreases near the surge
control line. Therefore, PID control alone is not
sufficient to keep pace with the changes in recycle flow.
A final deficiency with the standard PID approach is
that the quench controller will continue its attempt to
maintain a temperature set point even when the hot
recycle valve is closed. As the quench controller tries
to control an unpredictable temperature in a pipe with
little or no flow, the quench valve can open spuriously.
The quench application from Compressor Controls
Corp. (CCC) corrects the deficiencies of the standard
PID loop approach through the following methods:
z Calculation of the gas dew point to determine the
temperature set point.
z Utilising a feedforward signal from the antisurge
controller to improve response time.
z Auto-sequencing of the quench valve via
coordination with the antisurge controller.
Temperature set point
calculation
The set point temperature depends on the pressure of the
cooled stream because the drums located at the inlets of
a multi-stage compressor contain a two-phase mixture.
The separated gas in the upper portion of the drum is
saturated, so the temperature of the gas is a function of
the drum pressure. If the quench controller set point is
much greater than this saturation temperature, then the
temperature of the gas entering the compressor will be
high, potentially leading to overheating of the compressor.
If the quench controller set point is lower than (or
too close to) the saturation temperature, significant
amounts of liquid may be drained and wasted from the
main accumulator, leading to compression energy waste.
Additionally, excess liquid in the inlet drum does not have
a chance to evaporate and may be carried over into the
compressor, threatening impeller damage. Either scenario
greatly disturbs the refrigeration process and needs to
be avoided. Thus, the set point for the quench controller
needs to be maintained near, but slightly above, the
saturation point of the inlet drum. Figure 1 shows the
ideal location of the quench control line.
Instrumentation
The controlled temperature should be at the inlet of the
compressor. The reason for this location as opposed to
the mixing point of the recycle and quench flow is that
the gas temperature at the flange is the critical point. In
other words, if the inlet flange temperature increases too
much, then the discharge flange temperature can also
increase too much. The temperature at the mixing point
is certainly more controllable, but is less consequential. If
the temperature at the mixing point is relatively hot, but
the gas is cooled as it passes over condensed liquids in
the economiser, then the flange temperature will still be
48 February 2017
acceptable. Therefore, the flange temperature should be
controlled because it is the final location before the gas
is recompressed.
The pressure used to calculate the saturation
temperature should be located on the upper portion of
the phase separator vessel. Usually this vessel is
termed the economiser drum, although some designs
use the feed gas heat exchanger as a phase separator.
The pressure measured at this location is stable and
best represents the vapour pressure of the liquids in
the phase separator vessel.
Antisurge interactions
Loop decoupling (i.e. feedforward control) should be used
for two main reasons. It speeds up an otherwise slow
temperature loop and oscillations can occur between
the quench valve and the antisurge valve. The quench
valve, as a side-effect, adds gaseous recycle flow to
the compressor inlet. This added flow helps move the
compressor away from surge. Moving away from surge
tends to close the recycle valve. Closing the recycle
valve reduces the need for quench. Attempting to tune a
temperature PID loop to keep pace with a changing flow
control loop will certainly prove to be a wasted effort;
the temperature control loop will continually struggle
to maintain a temperature that is highly influenced by
a rapidly changing hot recycle flow. The solution to
this problem is to open the quench control valve, in
addition to its PID loop response, directly proportional
to the hot recycle valve opening. At any given drum
pressure, a ratiometric quench flow is needed to bring
the flow mixture temperature to the quench control line.
Feedforward control quickly sets the required quench to
hot recycle ratio, while PID control is only required to
maintain zero steady state error.
Auto-sequencing
The last crucial element is to allow the quench control
only when it is necessary. If the hot recycle valve is closed
or only has a marginal amount of flow, then the best
control strategy is to keep the quench valve completely
shut. This control strategy applies even if the measured
quench stream temperature strays from what would be
the controlled set point. The quench valve should only be
used to chill the hot recycle gas. Thus, the quench valve
should only be open and controlling when a significant
amount of hot recycle gas is flowing.
Conclusion
CCCs advanced quench control application integrated with
the antisurge control application significantly improves
the plain PID loop approach. It addresses the main issues
associated with standard PID control by calculating
a set-point based on the gas dew point, by utilising
feedforward control to improve transient response, and
by coordinating auto-sequencing with the hot recycle
controller. By using the integrated approach, LNG plants
can gain control strategies that avoid the dangers and
hassles of standard PID control often implemented in the
distributed control system (DCS).
 Make a

uring shipping, a significant fraction of the LNG cargo

Nobutaka Umeyama, Japan
Marine United Corp., Japan,
Kenichi Matsuoka, Azbil Corp.,
D evaporates as boil-off gas (BOG). The rate of BOG
generation fluctuates based on several factors, such
as weather and tank contents. The dual-fuel engines (DFE)
that operate an LNG carrier have fluctuating fuel demand
Japan, and David Hill, based on factors such as vessel displacement, the speed
of the ship, and power demand. Additional BOG can
Chemstations Inc., USA, be generated by vaporising LNG. It is undesirable to
look at the application flare or vent excess BOG, and most vessels are not
equipped to reliquefy BOG. The control system
of dynamic process attempts to match the BOG generation with the
simulation for DFE fuel demand to operate the vessel.
In this article, Azbil Corp. examines the
LNG vessel gas use of a dynamic simulation model, built in
management a commercial process simulator, during
the design phase of a control system.
systems. The article then considers the

49
 combination of the dynamic simulation with an empirical model
during the operating phase of the control system on a vessel
journey.
The dynamic simulator is used to model the gas management
system (GMS) to handle BOG, along with a detailed BOG model
from the LNG cargo tank. It is then used during the design of
process control, validation of operating procedure controllability,
and factory acceptance test (FAT) to validate distributed control
system (DCS) functionality. An empirical model is developed to
model the generation of BOG in the tank, which is then connected
to the simulation and DCS to perform simulations of the cargo
ballast voyage.
Process analysis: basic control
design
The process schematic of the GMS is shown in Figure 1. The
most important factor in the operation of the GMS is to supply
fuel gas to DFEs with stability during the sequential start-up and
slow-down of the engines. The controllability of the process during
stand-by and start-up after un-berthing, and shutdown of gas fuel
supply to DFEs, is also important.
The compressor suction vessel draws BOG from the LNG cargo
tank, vapour from the LNG vaporiser, and recycled BOG from the
recirculation loop. A variable drive vane (VDV) compressor is used
for suction and adjusted to control fuel pressure to the DFE. A
buffer tank holds vapour to smooth process upsets. A gas-return
control valve throttles recirculation of vapour to the suction vessel.
The fuel flow to DFE, recirculation line, and the buffer tank create
backpressure to the VDV compressors. A pressure control valve
connects to the gas combustion unit (GCU) flare. The control
system adjusts the performance of the VDV compressor, the
position of the antisurge control valves, and the position of the
gas return valve.
Dynamic simulation allows the engineer to build a virtual
plant, based on the actual process and process control. The
simulator used in this study (CHEMCAD) is capable of hydraulic
balance calculations, heat and mass balance calculations based on
thermodynamics, and considers variable pressure based on
hold-ups, flow, backpressure, and equipment.
Process analysis: operating
procedure testing
In its previous work, Azbil has determined that dynamic simulation
is a realistic model of the GMS process, based on historical BOG
flow data from the LNG tank and DFE demand. For this work, the
Figure 1. Process flow scheme of gas management system (GMS).
50 February 2017
dynamic simulation was used to study three different operating
procedures.
It was used to tune and obtain optimum control parameters.
Investigating the dynamic behaviour of the process using
simulation during start-up and shutdown will reduce the period of
time for tune-up of plant control, and can be carried out during FAT.
Initial compressor start-up operation
procedure
Prior to compressor start-up, the DFE fuel demand is zero, and flow
through the compressor is stagnant. The compressor is started and
gas flow is recirculated to the suction vessel.
Operating procedure:
z Ramp rotating speed of compressor from 0% to 100% in 3 sec.
z Change discharge pressure set-point at compressor no. 4 stage
to 3.3 barg.
Simulation results (Figure 2) show that the control system
slightly overshoots and stabilises pressure at the compressor
outlet. Flow (BOG) through the compressor trains is reasonable.
The GCU does not flare, and the DFE demand is still zero. All BOG
is recirculated and the system is ready to supply fuel to the
engines.
Compressor control during DFE sequential
start-up
During DFE sequential start-up, the demand to engines increases,
recirculation of BOG decreases, and the compressor must maintain
a stable pressure to achieve stable gas combustion on DFE.
The DFE start-up occurs after the compressor has started and
established pressure control for the DFE line.
Operating procedure:
z Increase DFE fuel gas demand to 1250 kg/hr.
z Ramp DFE demand from 1250 to 6250 kg/hr in 8 min.
It is important to verify that BOG flowrate through the
compressor is increasing with stability and that DFE flow is not
coming from the buffer tank on the compressor system.
Simulation results (Figure 3) show that the compressor
discharge pressure remains near set point. The flow to the DFE
increases, and the BOG increases to maintain flow to the DFE.
Compressor control during DFE sequential
shutdown
During DFE sequential shutdown, the fuel gas demand for DFE
decreases to zero. All BOG
must recirculate to the
compressor suction line and
the VDV must reduce its
operating point.
Operating procedure:
z Ramp the DFE fuel gas
demand from 6250 to
0 kg/hr in 10 min.
z Reduce the set point for
compressor discharge
pressure.
Simulation results
(Figure 4) show that the
compressor discharge
pressure follows the set point.
Backpressure from the DFE
valves increases vapour flow
to the recirculation line,
causing BOG flow to the
compressors to drop. The
DFE supply drops smoothly
and pressure does not
trigger GCU relief. If the fuel
flowrate to the DFE
decreases rapidly, there is a
Figure 2. Initial compressor start-up.
risk of surging the
compressor, at which time
the antisurge control will
activate.

Integration
of DCS and
dynamic
simulator
The dynamic simulation
can be used as a virtual
plant by the DCS. The DCS Figure 3. Dual-fuel engine (DFE) sequential start-up.
functionality can be tested
and validated using a
dynamic simulation during
FAT. Operators can interact
with the DCS during FAT to
identify necessary revisions.

Architecture of
DCS/simulator
integration
Figure 5 shows the overall
system configuration during Figure 4. DFE sequential shutdown.
FAT. The DCS system is
assembled for testing on
the factory floor. The object linking and embedding for process
control (OPC) server connects simulator results to the DCS as
sensor inputs. Controller output from the DCS is used to control
the simulator. The simulator is running in real time. The simulator
graphic user interface (GUI) is displayed and compared to the DCS
displays.
Validation of DCS functionality
The DCS is used to control the simulator to model regular
operation, and to test the start-up/shutdown scenarios.
Controllability is studied by using the actual DCS with a realistic
model of the process. The simulation model can be manipulated
to trigger alarms and test regulatory controls on the DCS.
Validation offers the opportunity to determine if the DCS
functions as designed, and tune parameters. It can also help to
identify problems that were not noticed during the design phase,
enabling revisions to be made before delivery. Unforeseen control
problems may be identified and revisions can be made before
delivery.
Ongoing work: hybrid model combining
empirical model with process simulator
The dynamic simulator is useful for the GMS portion of the
process, but does not accurately predict the BOG rate considering
BOG generation by LNG mist spray into the tank to cool-down the
cargo tank. An equation-based model considers the evaporation
of mist based on mass and energy balances at liquid and vapour
interfaces of mist in the mist zone around spray nozzle, and
considers tank contents and external weather as well.
The equation-based BOG model is combined with the
commercial dynamic simulator to create a hybrid tool. The hybrid
model combines the power and simplicity of a commercial
simulator with the flexibility of an equation-based tool.
Comparison to historical data shows the empirical model
accurately predicts generation of BOG in the LNG tank.
LNG tank spray model: building
the hybrid model
The contents of the cryogenic tanks are not well mixed. Bulk
liquid is at cryogenic conditions, but the vapour is warm.
Thermal layers exist in the vapour phase. LNG is recirculated
and sprayed to cool the vapour and the surrounding tank material
prior to LNG cargo loading, in order to prevent large thermal
stress caused by a rapid temperature drop of the tank material
during LNG loading. Commercial process simulators do not have a
unit operation that is sufficient to model the phenomena inside
the large LNG tank.
Using differential equations for heat and mass transport and
empirical data on the behaviour of tanks during voyages, a
detailed LNG cargo tank model is developed. The model considers
heat transfer to the tank wall, to the vapour phase, and to the
liquid phase. Tank contents and external weather are also
considered. Non-equilibrium mass and energy balances in the
mist zone around the spray nozzle and at the liquid vapour
interfaces are considered. Comparison to historical data shows

February 2017 51
 that the empirical model accurately predicts BOG generation
in the LNG tank.
LNG heel simulation: predicting LNG
heel stock
Customers require that LNG heel stock during ballast
voyage is minimised to allow the vessel to carry more
LNG energy stock. Accurate estimation of optimum LNG
heel stock and the prediction of LNG inventory for ballast
voyage is difficult.
A hybrid model combining the empirical LNG tank model
with the dynamic simulation of the GMS allows the entire
voyage to be simulated. An example of an LNG heel stock
calculation during LNG ballast operation (20 days) for shale
gas transportation was simulated, and the change of LNG
inventory and compositions with time are shown in Figure 6.
Conclusion and future work
A dynamic process model for the energy systems of LNG
carriers has been developed and integrated with a DCS,
in order to validate the control strategy and verify the
implemented control loops and logic in the DCS. The
transient phenomena of LNG cargo temperature, pressure,
and BOG generation rate through spray operation are
calculated using a detailed LNG cargo tank model. A hybrid
model combination calculates LNG heel stock during LNG
ballast voyage.
Dynamic simulation is useful for commissioning of DCS as the
simulation can act as a virtual plant. Simulation is also useful
during operation of the process, because it provides insight into
process response.
During the design phase of this project, dynamic simulation
was used to develop optimum control parameters. Simulation
with optimum parameters was then used to validate start-up and
shutdown control strategy and operating procedures.
During FAT, the DCS was connected to the simulation model
to validate functionality and verify control strategy. Using
simulation allowed the DCS to be validated on the factory floor,
rather than after onsite installation.
It is believed that the amount of time required to tune-up the
plant control during start-up and shutdown is reduced by
investigating the dynamic behaviour of the process in simulation.
This entire process can be carried out during FAT, before
installation.
Future work
Future projects include developing an operator training simulator
(OTS) that interfaces to the dynamic simulation, creating
predictive models for an operator to predict the effect of a change
before making it, and online process monitoring to compare
sensor data with simulated values.
As computers and software become more powerful, the ability
to model complex phenomena increases daily. However, it should
be remembered that even with advanced tools, the engineer must
validate the results and the
input specifications.

References
1. BARTON, P. I., Introduction
Industrial Experience with
Dynamic Simulation, (July
1997).
2. EDWARDS, Process
Simulation Dynamic
Modelling & Control:
Design, Implementation
and Operation,
P&I Design Ltd, (2014).
3. UMEKAWA, N.,
KAWASHIMA, M.,
NAKAMURA, Y., and
UMEYAMA, N., BOG
Control Simulation
During Ballast Voyage,
Figure 5. Overall system International Conference
configuration during FAT. on Liquefied Natural Gas,
C-1, (1995).
4. HASHIMOTO, I., HASEBE,
S., and KANO, M.,
Process Control, Asakura
Publishing, (2002).
5. LUYBEN, W. L., Process
Modeling, Simulation
and Control for Chemical
Engineer, second edition,
McGraw Hill, USA, (1989).
6. UMEYAMA, N.,
MATSUOKA, K., WATA, A.,
and HILL, D., Development
of Dynamic Process
Simulator on LNG Vessel
Gas Management System,
2015 Spring Meeting & 11th
Figure 6. LNG heel calculation. Global Congress on Process
Safety.

52 February 2017
INTEGRATION OR
INDEPENDENCE?
Peter Sieber, HIMA Paul
Hildebrandt GmbH, Germany,
debates the benefits of
a separate approach to
functional safety versus an
integrated approach.

Figure 1. In this model, the

industrial process is surrounded
by risk reduction layers. These
collectively reduce the risk
to an acceptable level. The
required risk reduction
factor for the different
layers is set by the
Safety Instrumented
Level (SIL).

very production process harbours risks. Companies in the LNG processing sector must, therefore, understand precisely

E the requirements of the standards for functional safety, and then implement them correctly. But what does functional
safety mean for those in the LNG industry? Functional safety, far from being the sole concern of the safety or the
engineering department, also impacts the macro-economic environment. Businesses will always have the basic running
costs associated with production, personnel and licensing, but investing in a high level of functional safety can reduce
downtime, the spurious alarms that trigger shutdowns and also ensure enhanced reputation across a variety of stakeholders
from investors to government officials and the general public. Insurance rates can also be positively affected. Conversely,

53
 failure to invest in functional safety can mean more downtime
and accidents that, in turn, bring legal costs, environmental waste
management issues and reputational damage.
At a micro level, functional safety can be simply seen as the
switching on or off of equipment if dangerous conditions
suddenly occur and people do not (or cannot) react or other
safety precautions fail. The simple act of switching off can mean
activating up to 300 switches in a certain sequence within a few
seconds. Such monitoring systems need to be incredibly robust
and future proof as they are expected to operate passively over
many years yet, in the event of an emergency, everything has to
function at 100%.
Cleanly separating the safety and
process control systems
To reduce the risk of downtime and accidents, IEC 61511
requires separate levels of protection for three areas: control
and monitoring; prevention and containment; and emergency
measures. Each of these three levels assumes specific
sub-functions to minimise risk. Together, they reduce the hazards
that are naturally present within the overall production process.
IEC 61511 categorically requires independence, diversity and
physical separation for each level of protection. To meet this
requirement, the functions of the different levels need to be
sufficiently independent of one another. Many think it is enough
to use different I/O modules for the different levels. HIMA
maintains that this is not accurate as automation systems also
depend on the functions of I/O bus systems, central processing
units (CPUs) and software. Safety systems and process control
systems are considered as autonomous safety levels, as defined
by IEC 61511, only if they are based on different platforms,
development principles and philosophies. In concrete terms, this
means that the system architecture must be designed in such a
Figure 2. IEC 62443 requires the separation of the entire
system.
54 February 2017
way that none of the components of the process control system
layer and the safety layer can be used concurrently.
Another standard worthy of attention in this matter is
IEC 61508, the international standard of rules for the functional
safety of electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic
safety-related systems. According to IEC 61508, functional safety
is part of the overall safety that depends on functional and
physical units operating correctly in response to their inputs.
Concentrating on IEC 61511 for the
Safety Instrumented System
Whether independent or integrated into an overall basic process
control system (BPCS), the Safety Instrumented System (SIS) is
a fundamental component of every industrial process facility.
Figure 1 shows what IEC 61511 looks like in practice.
In this model, the industrial process is surrounded by risk
reduction layers. These collectively reduce the risk to an
acceptable level. The required risk reduction factor for the
different layers is set by the Safety Instrumented System (SIL).
The first line of protection for any plant is the control and
monitoring layer, which includes the BPCS. The BPCS reduces the
risk of the occurrence of an unwanted event. The prevention layer
includes the SIS. The hardware and software at this level perform
individual Safety Instrumented Functions (SIFs). To reduce the
overall risk to an acceptable level, the majority of critical
industrial processes require an SIS that fulfils the requirements of
SIL 3. This equates to a risk reduction factor of at least 1000.
At the mitigation layer, technical systems are required to
reduce damage should the inner protection layers fail. Mitigation
systems are not usually encountered as part of the safety system.
This is because they are only activated after the occurrence of an
event (that should have been prevented). Mechanical equipment
or structural features are often used in mitigation systems.
Examples include retention basins or automatic fire suppression
systems.
Maximum safety with control
system patches
One of the fundamental weaknesses of integrated systems,
especially in the era of cyber security, is the fact that standardised
hardware and software requires patches from time to time to
correct weaknesses in software and operating systems. Due to the
complexity of the software architecture, however, it is impossible
to assess the potential risks of a system update. Patches
made in the BPCS, for example, can also affect the integrated
safety system. The only way to ensure that critical errors with
unforeseeable consequences do not occur in safety-relevant
processes is to separate the BPCS from each other technically.
Only by insisting on the separation of the two systems in this way
is there a guarantee that updates in the control system do not
impair functional safety.
However, even a separate, independent SIS has to be able to
interface with the other systems controlling the process. BPCS-SIS
integration is achieved through high capacity, cross-manufacturer
communication standards, such as Modbus, Profibus, Profinet and
HART, for example.
But what effect, if any, does cyber security have upon this
debate? The first reported incidence of a cyber security incident
in an industrial environment was back in the year 2000 and since
then there have been many high profile incidences of process
facilities being attacked from the outside via their IT systems. The
pace of attacks is also increasing. Recently, Symantec reported
 17 - 18 MAY 2017
SOFITEL WANDA HOTEL, BEIJING, CHINA
that more than 1000 industrial facilities in Europe and
North America had been compromised by an Eastern European
hacking collective.1 Researchers found that a group called
Dragonfly had been targeting users of Industrial Control Systems
since 2013.2
The reality of large scale LNG projects, such as the
INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project (in which HIMA were
involved), is that the companies involved in a project usually have
different security objectives. Manufacturers wish to ensure the
protection of their operating systems; system integrators want to
safeguard their engineering know-how; and end users are
responsible for the protection of system operations. There is,
therefore, no easy way to achieve cyber security, as all of these
different needs have to be considered and all of the different
parties vendors, integrators, users have to bundle their
knowledge.
Safety and security are based on systematic failures and the
probability of failures. Therefore, risk assessments play a major
role. With functional safety, fault probabilities can be accurately
determined using statistical methods. With cyber security,
however, the completely unpredictable factor of human behaviour
is introduced, which it makes it incredibly difficult to determine
risks.
One of the many benefits of adopting the separated SIS
approach to functional safety is that its founding principles
significantly enhance cyber security. A recent HIMA whitepaper on
the subject focuses on the standard, IEC 62443, which covers the
protection of networks within automation systems.3 As indicated
by Figure 2, it requires the separation of the overall system (which
Need a reprint?
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requirements,
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is obviously the major strength of the functional safety approach).
It also introduces the concept of security zones, defined conduits,
and additional firewalls at every conduit that connects one
security zone to another one with different requirements. This
structure creates a tiered system of defense mechanisms (also
known as defense in depth). The firewalls have different technical
requirements,depending on which security level each zone
requires.
IEC 62443 contains seven foundational requirements. These
consider the various security objectives, such as protecting a
system against unauthorised access.
The decision to adopt a separate approach to functional
safety, rather than an integrated approach, is fundamentally a
philosophical one. It depends largely on the way that individuals
interpret IEC 61511. However, HIMA believes that a combination
of functional safety and information security can help to ensure
the overall safety of a plant, in light of recent developments
surrounding cyber security.
References
1. Dragonfly: Western Energy Companies Under Sabotage
Threat, Symantec Security Response, (30 June 2014), https://
www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/dragonfly-western-energy-
companies-under-sabotage-threat
2. How Dragonfly Hackers and RAT Malware Threaten ICS
Security, Belden, (15 September 2014), http://www.belden.com/
blog/industrialsecurity/How-Dragonfly-Hackers-and-RAT-
Malware-Threaten-ICS-Security.cfm
3. SIEBER, P., Securing and Protecting Process Plants in the
Digital Age Functional Safety Requires IT security, HIMA Paul
Hildebrandt GmbH.
Waste not,
WANT
N T
Arno Brouwer,
Cryonorm, the
Netherlands, presents
a method to recover
cold energy from LNG
regasification plants.

n order to transport natural gas to

I off-grid customers, it is liquefied

and stored at temperatures of
approximately -160C. Stored and
regasified at the end location, a virtual
pipeline is created.
The liquefaction and regasification
processes require a significant amount of
electrical energy. Furthermore, a number
of industrial processes generate hot Figure 1. 3D model of
cooling water, which, in closed cycle, cold recovery regas skid
with ambient vaporisers as
needs to be cooled and reused. Once
back-up.
again, this cooling process requires a
significant amount of electrical power.

57
 This article presents a way of using cold energy from the
LNG to reduce the cost of cooling, and extracting heat from
cooling water to reduce the cost of regasifying the LNG.
Optimise energy consumption
In some countries, electrical power consumption for cooling
is a major cost. LNG regasification installations with ambient
air heated vaporisers at industrial plants often spend a
significant amount of money on cooling process water.
Therefore, Cryonorm has developed a skidded solution to
utilise the energy used in the liquefaction process.
Recently, the company supplied a cold recovery system to
LineaClave International which is now installed in a brewery
plant in the Dominican Republic. This system saves
approximately 650 kWh on cooling expenses.
The project required a cold recovery system as the main
vaporiser, and ambient air heated vaporisers as back-up.
The cold recovery LNG regasification plant consists of
the following: two ambient air heated vaporisers; a
water-glycol heated vaporiser; a water-glycol circulation
system with a pump and a plate heat exchanger (PHE); and a
gas conditioning and temperature protection system.
The basic principle of the installation is to vaporise LNG
by using plant cooling water. In this case, a cooling water
flow from the brewery is used as the energy source.
Figure 2. System installed on site.
58 February 2017
Originally, the cooling water from the production plant
was pumped to a series of electrically powered chillers. The
water was cooled to the required temperature and returned
to the brewery.
During the installation of the cold recovery plant, the
cooling water piping upstream of the chillers was redirected
to the vaporiser skid. The water flow is now pumped
through the primary side of a PHE before entering the
chillers.
The PHE transfers part of the energy from the cooling
water to a closed-loop water-glycol circulation system. The
energy taken from the cooling water is equal to the energy
required for vaporising the actual LNG consumption. The
transfer rate is controlled by a control valve on the inlet of
the PHE, which allows the flow to be directed through the
PHE. The addition of glycol to the circulation system
allows the use of low temperature cooling water, even as
low as 5C.
The water-glycol mixture is pumped from the
secondary side of the PHE to the shell and tube type LNG
vaporiser. In the vaporiser, the energy from the mixture is
used to heat up the LNG, causing it to boil and vaporise
into a gaseous product. Additionally, two ambient air
heated vaporisers (AAVs) are installed parallel to the shell
and tube vaporiser.
As the purpose of the installation is to use
as much waste energy as possible, the LNG will
be primarily vaporised in the shell and tube
vaporiser. In case the flow or temperature of
cooling water from the brewery is too low, the
control system will direct part of the flow to
the AAVs to ensure sufficient gas supply. Based
on the available energy, the flow through the
various vaporisers is constantly balanced by the
control system.
The AAVs are also operated for back-up and
peak shaving service. An integrated change over
system ensures the continuous use of the AAVs.
Downstream of the vaporisers, a gas
treatment and monitoring system is installed.
The gas pressure is reduced to the required
level by two pressure controllers installed in
parallel. A low temperature protection control
loop monitors the gas temperature and shuts
down the system when programmed limits are
exceeded.
The plant is designed for continuous and
autonomous operation, not requiring operator
input or monitoring in normal service. The
programmable logic controller (PLC) is
equipped with a communication module,
allowing for extensive remote monitoring and
control.
Conclusion
From an overall energy balance point of view,
using cold energy from the LNG reduces global
warming and carbon footprint. Initial CAPEX is
higher but, depending on the cost of electrical
power, such cold recovery systems will have
return on investment (ROI) within a year.
 emand for LNG in power generation is increasing,

D and this trend is expected to continue in the years

to come.
One of the main concerns in the natural gas industry is
Augusto Bulte,
Amec Foster Wheeler,
the regasification of the LNG. The common techniques
adapted by the industry have been a challenge to both
power generation and LNG receiving terminals. Countries
USA, explains
are looking into more efficient ways to generate power, and how LNG import
are also looking at the best possible fuel for this purpose.
Over the coming years, a significant number of new LNG terminals can make
regasification terminals are expected to go ahead, namely
in Asia, India, and the Middle East. use of the cold energy
Some of these countries and regions are known for
having high temperatures all year long. Therefore, efficient
generated during the
heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are regasification process.
essential to minimise power consumption and reduce the
impact to the environment.

59
 can this integration be
done? Chilled water to the
district can be supplied by
integrating the close-water
system of the district
cooling with available LNG
cold energy. Such energy
will be transferred via an
intermediate refrigerant,
e.g. glycol/water.

Integration
It is imperative that when
designing a district cooling
system, the cooling source
(LNG terminal vaporisers),
the distribution system,
and the ETS are integrated
Figure 1. Typical district cooling system scheme. considering the economics
and the performance of the
system. This will help to
minimise the costs.
In order to achieve the
most efficient integration
and environmentally
friendly configuration, a
Rankine cycle should be
considered to vaporise the
LNG with a two serial
vaporisers scheme.
The initial point of this
scheme is the LNG pumping
system. LNG pumps will
increase the LNG pressure
up to within the boundaries
of 3.5 4.5 bar (g).
The first vaporiser,
located downstream of the
LNG pump, will transfer
Figure 2. Proposed scheme of district cooling/LNG integration. heat from the working fluid
to the LNG, and will also act
as a condenser of the
District cooling is where cold water is used to reduce Rankine cycle that will produce power. In this manner, LNG
capital and operating cost in new residential or commercial can be used to generate electricity by the expansion of a
building air conditioning systems in hot climates. It is a working fluid across an expander (turbine).
simple thermal process that reduces or eliminates the need Such working fluid will condense in the first vaporiser
for electric chillers and cooling towers and cuts electricity (working fluid condenser) thanks to the heat exchange with
consumption. the LNG. Downstream of the first vaporiser (working fluid
The interface between the district cooling system and the condenser), the working fluid is pressurised by the
building (or facility) cooling system is commonly referred to as circulation pump and sent to the working fluid vaporiser.
the energy transfer station (ETS) or consumer substations. The LNG enters the second vaporiser, where the resultant natural
ETS consists of a heat exchanger, as shown in Figure 1, and gas is heated to approximately 0C. Hence, this second
the applicable isolation and control valves, controllers and vaporiser will cool down the district cooling water. That
measurement instruments. same water would be previously cooled down when
During the LNG regasification process, a significant vaporising the working fluid of the Rankine cycle. In the
amount of cold energy is available. The majority of current proposed scheme, sufficient temperature potential exists
LNG import terminals do not make use of this cold energy, between LNG and water to condense and vaporise the
and it is simply dissipated to the environment. working fluid.
A typical 5 million tpy LNG regasification terminal has an The vaporised working fluid drives the turbine during
available cold energy of approximately 110 MW at maximum the expansion process and generates electricity.
send-out rate. Therefore, there is an opportunity to use this Subsequently, this fluid is condensed again in the first LNG
cold energy by integration with a district cooling system. How vaporiser.

60 February 2017
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 If the district cooling system is shut down (due to
maintenance work or reduced seasonal demand for cooling),
the LNG and working fluid should continue to be vaporised by
seawater. Currently, there are vaporisers in the market that can
work with seawater directly, without the need for any
intermediate fluid. However, such being the case, a system to
prewash the vaporisers would be required before returning to
the district cooling water operation.
For the cycle to work, the working fluid of the Rankine
cycle should boil under pressure at district cooling water
temperature and condense at low pressure at LNG temperature.
Propane is one such working fluid that could be used.
To date, seven units based on this scheme have been
installed in Japan based on seawater as a means of
vaporisation (not integrated with district cooling), including
the Senboku LNG terminal and the Himeji LNG terminal.
Amec Foster Wheeler performed a case study of district
cooling integration, based on this configuration, in Port L.A.,
California, and in Hawaii.
Therefore, commercial experience of the proposed
technology should not be an issue. It is reported that, in these
Rankine cycle configurations, 100 tph of LNG can produce up
to 5 MWe of power. Hence, for a 5 million tpy terminal,
35 MWe may be achieved with no fuel cost. This would satisfy
the energy demand of the LNG regasification terminal
(estimated to be no more than 7 MW), with the possibility of
the surplus power being exported to the power grid, which
would provide additional revenues to the plant operation.
This recovery on a 100 tph LNG cryogenic power plant, in
the form of electric power, reduces power consumption and,
by extension, will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately
10 000 tpy compared to other vaporisation schemes.
The environmental benefits of this scheme include the
following:
z No CO2 emissions associated with the process.
z No NOx emissions associated with the process.
z A significant reduction of chlorine use in comparison with
the open rack vaporisers configuration.
z No thermal pollution in seawater, as the seawater is not
used continuously.
z No fuel consumption in the vaporisation of LNG.
z Clean power generation.
z Reduction in power utilisation for HVAC systems in the
district area, which also flows down to an additional
reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
z Reduced strain on electricity infrastructure.
Conclusion
Cold energy from regasification presents an opportunity to
minimise power consumption, and therefore OPEX costs, in
regasification facilities. Integrating a district cooling system
can save energy, especially in hot climate locations. It is also
environmentally friendly.

ADINDEX
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Burckhardt Compression 23
02, 31, 38, 43,
LNG Industry
56 & 63
Chart Industries IBC
MAN Diesel & Turbo 07
Corban Energy Group 09

Quorum Business Solutions OBC

Cryoquip 37

SIAD Macchine Impianti 04

Cryostar 11

CWC China 55 Stoc Expo Europe 61

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 ...ON
15FACTS The Mediterranean
THERE ARE CURRENTLY
PLANS TO CONVERT
The name THE PORT OF BARCELONA
INTO A MEDITERRANEAN
MEDITERRANEAN LNG DISTRIBUTION HUB
is derived from
theLatinmediterraneus, The Zohr gas eld could conceivably
which means inland or hold 30 trillion ft3 of lean gas
in the middle of land One in three people
in Monaco are
MILLIONAIRES
The deepest part of the
Mediterranean Sea is the
Calypso Deep (5267 m) ITALY IS HOME TO 51 UNESCO
WORLD HERITAGE SITES
The Mediterraneans THE MOST IN THE WORLD
rst small-scale LNG
storage terminal At the height of the
will be located Roman Empire, the
in Sardinia, Italy entire border of the
Mediterranean Sea
belonged to the Empire
Alexandria has a
population of just
under 5 million Valencia has its own
the largest on the
Mediterranean
language Valencian
coastline
The FIRST LNG-FUELLED
The LEVIATHAN GAS FIELD FERRY to operate in the
Mediterranean Sea is
was discovered in 2010, with a scheduled for delivery
projected 22 trillion ft3 of gas in 2018
ITALY only became a single unied
state in the 19th century
GREECE HAS
TEL AVIV WAS ONLY
6000 ISLANDS FOUNDED IN 1909
64 February 2017
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