LNG

To comply with the LNG industry’s requirements for minimizing life-cycle costs many different vaporizers and vaporization processes have been currently developed that use either one type of vaporizer or a combination of different types.
However, the selection of a feasible LNG vaporization scheme is mostly based on economics and site-specific environmental issues.
Among them is the propriatory three-shell vaporizer combined with the air heater system that has been developed by KBR.

With the increase in LNG transportation, along with the fast development of LNG carrier design and operation, sloshing loads and membrane tank system strength has become a main concern.

In particular the increasing size of the carriers, offshore loading and offloading operation, and trading in more severe environments, pose challenges with respect to the assessment of the safety for the membrane tank systems.

The oversupply in the LNG carrier market is likely to continue for up to five more years and the industry is heading for a major restructuring in the form of mergers, acquisitions and more strategic joint ventures, says a leading industry executive.

More serious financial consequences from the supply-demand imbalance in the LNG shipping industry is only being avoided because the current practice of storing cargoes on carriers has removed most of the industry’s over-capacity in the short term.

BW Gas, the gas shipping company, posted record third-quarter earnings before depreciation and disposals of $99.2 million as the LNG and LPG segments significantly increased their operating profit.

Technip, the French engineering and construction firm, said more than 36,000 workers were currently mobilized for its liquefied natural gas projects in Qatar and Yemen and the number was growing.

Enagas, the Spanish natural gas company and LNG terminals owner, said it plans to build a new reception terminal at El Musel, near the city of Gijón in northern Spain.

Gaz de France announced it formally brought into service the world’s largest LNG carrier, which has been named the “Provalys”, and was built in France at a cost of around $255 million.

Indonesia and Japan will discuss LNG imports when Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visits Tokyo, with state-owned energy company Pertamina planning to cut annual exports by as much as 60 percent when some contracts expire in 2010.

Golar LNG, the shipping company with a midstream investment strategy, reported increased operating income of $23.9 million for the third quarter because of improved spot vessel earnings, but still posted a net loss for the three months of $5.9M because of interest rate swaps.

Qatar Gas Transport Co. (Nakilat) said it signed a deal with the shipping arm of Royal Dutch Shell for the management of Qatar's new LNG carrier fleet.