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.

Flogas Britain, a leading UK supplier of LNG by truck, is also continuing to be a top shipper of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and has just been granted planning permission to construct a gas pipeline from Bristol Port in southwest England into the nation’s largest above-ground LPG storage terminal at nearby Avonmouth.

Despite LPG not being as clean a fuel as LNG, the global annual LPG market is still growing on a global basis.

Trade statistics show that LPG’s global market revenue was valued at around $134 billion in 2021 and is forecast to grow and to be worth over $177Bln a year through 2028 with a compound annual growth rate of 4.8 percent.

The largest UK LNG import destination is Milford Haven in Wales and it also imports LPG in smaller vessels than the huge LNG carriers arriving at the South Hook and Dragon terminals.

The next scheduled LPG delivery at Milford Haven is on October 19 on board the 38,950 cubic metres capacity LPG tanker, the “Hourai Maru”, and sourced from the Norwegian refinery at Mongstad, according to shipping data.

Largest in UK

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 terminal near London, the Avonmouth facility was previously only able to store LNG. However, work is currently underway to convert it to an LPG facility.

“Running safely underground and out of site, the twin-pipeline will vastly increase the availability of LPG, enabling up to 20,000 tonnes of commodity to be safely and securely discharged from a ship in 24 hours,” explained Flogas.

Flogas said that once complete, the LPG pipeline would link the UK to a diverse, global supply of off-grid gas, providing security of supply and enhancing affordability for off-grid commercial and residential customers.

Flogas, a subsidiary of DCC Plc, said that with the planning permission now in place, the company was talking to potential partners from across the entire supply chain who want to join Flogas in creating a dependable off-grid fuel supply for the UK.

Off-grid role

Flogas notes that LPG was still the cleanest, most efficient conventional off-grid fuel available, and those transitioning from oil will benefit from significant carbon savings and improved air quality, as it emits far fewer pollutant emissions.

“The granting of planning permission is the final piece in the jigsaw for this ground-breaking project, as we already have the Avonmouth storage facility and agreement in principle from Bristol Port and landowners for the pipeline route,” said Flogas Managing Director Lee Gannon.

“This means we’re now perfectly placed to start talking to prospective partners from across the supply chain who want to join us in this venture,” added Gannon.

“Avonmouth offers an excellent collaborative opportunity, one that will provide important access to the global market and enhance security of supply to our off-grid customers,” he stated.

Gannon added that the next phase of design was currently underway and with completion of construction potentially seen as early as 2025.

German company TGE Gas Engineering GmbH has signed a contract with Flogas Britain Ltd, a company with several LNG firsts to its name, for the conversion of a former National Grid LNG peak-shaving facility at Avonmouth in southeast England into a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal.