LNG

Flogas Britain Ltd, a leading provider of liquefied natural gas of liquefied petroleum gas to off-grid customers in the North of the UK has opened a new operational terminal in Teesside that will improve the supply chain.

Flogas, a unit of energy group DCC Plc, said the new facility would initially provide up to 90,000 tonnes of LPG each year to homes and businesses across the Northern England, Scotland and North Wales.

Commissioned by Flogas Britain, alongside partners North Sea Midstream Partners (NSMP) and Exolum Seal Sands Ltd (Exolum), the facility is set to improve the security of supply nationwide while also reducing the reliance on imports.

Offshore

“This facility delivers a significant, critical supply of LPG to the UK, and we’re delighted to see it now up and running,” said Paul Horton, Chief Operating Officer at Flogas.

“This has been a vital part of our plan to provide proper energy resilience for both our commercial and domestic customers, and in the short time it’s been live, we’ve already seen a huge step change in our supply capability in the North,” Horton added.

Previously LPG was extracted from North Sea gas reserves at the NSMP-owned Teesside Gas Processing Plant (TGPP) and was being exported to global markets.

Now, thanks to the deal between Flogas, NSMP and Exolum, it’s being turned inland instead, helping to improve the UK’s own supply.

LPG is fractionated at TGPP, then transported and stored in five 125-tonne storage bullets, owned by Exolum.

With its extensive delivery network, Flogas then delivers the LPG across Northern England, Scotland and Wales, reaching even the most remote locations.

“Alongside the new Teesside terminal, Flogas has invested heavily in developing the UK’s largest above-ground LPG storage facility in Avonmouth, Bristol, which went live last year,” added Horton.

Former Avonnouth LNG site

“Now Teesside is fully operational, any surplus LPG supply we have, will be transferred, and stored at Avonmouth to help prepare for peak heating season in Winter 2024,” he explained.   

The Flogas Avonmouth Storage facility is the largest of its kind in the UK, with the capacity to store 34,564 tonnes of LPG.

Formerly owned by National Grid Plc, operator of the Grain LNG import terminal on the Medeay River southeast of London, the Avonmouth facility was previously only able to store LNG. However, work was carried out to convert it to an LPG facility.

“With the two sites working in parallel, we’ll be able to provide a new level of energy security for the UK’s off-grid community - it’s a real game changer,” Horton stated.

Over the past 12 months, the team has been readying the Teesside facility for the new intake, constructing road loading racks and process infrastructure to receive the LPG.

It also has the capacity to be a gateway for renewable gases in the future with space for additional storage vessels to be installed.

This provides the opportunity to blend renewable fuels, such as bio-propane and renewable Di-Methyl Ether (RDME) with LPG in the future.

The PX Group, which operates the UK St. Fergus Gas Terminal and Teesside Gas Processing Plant, has been appointed by North Sea Midstream Partners (NSMP) to run its recently acquired small-scale Risavika LNG liquefaction plant in Norway.

PX Group, which specializes in providing services in the process, energy and chemical sectors, is currently responsible for processing around 30 percent of the UK’s gas supply and operates many of the UK’s key strategic sites on behalf of clients.

“The represents PX Group’s first significant operations contract outside of the UK,” said Chief Executive Geoff Holmes.

NSMP acquired the Risavika LNG plant, located in southwest Norway near Stavanger, in November 2021.

The Risavika facility has a capacity of 300,000 tonnes of LNG per annum and operates predominantly on electricity produced from renewable sources.

The plant was formerly owned by Gasum of Finland and uses feed gas from offshore Norway to supply the LNG maritime fuel and truck transportation markets.

The PX Group said it had set up a new operating entity in Norway, PX Norge AS.

NSMP closed the deal to buy the Risavika plant on November 16.

NSMP agreed with Gasum an extensive tolling agreement under which Gasum would continue to ensure deliveries of LNG and liquefied biogas (LBG) to its customers from the Risavika facility.

The separate bunkering solution, serving maritime customers, is not included in the scope of the NSMP-Gasum transaction and both parties agreed at the time not to disclose the transaction price.

PX Group CEO Holmes added that his company was delighted to be joining NSMP at Risavika.

“It is exciting for PX Group on a number of levels, not least because it represents PX Group’s expanding international footprint. It’s also our first major LNG site, which is in our capability sweet spot,” stated Holmes.

“LNG plays a critical role in the energy mix and is a component in the transition to lower-carbon sources of energy for sectors such as maritime,” said the CEO.