Naturgy Energy Group, the Spanish utility with major US and Russian liquefied natural gas supply contracts as well as global gas and power businesses, has launched a system allowing onshore connection and loading of LNG from a carrier without the need for facilities at the destination port.
The Naturgy device has been registered as “LNGonWheels” and it has obtained a patent from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.
The Spanish utility said LNGonWheels is an alternative solution to the problems of LNG supply in those areas where either there are no storage and distribution facilities for the fuel or the construction of such infrastructure is not economic.
“Naturgy's LNGonWheels solution consists of a device designed to transport tanks with a new module (the patent core) that allows the connection and loading of these tanks from an LNG vessel,” explained the company.
The technology has been granted a patent as a “liquefied natural gas transport and distribution system” and is registered with the number ES-2672254 B2.
“This patent recognizes the inventive activity of the LNGonWheels methodology itself, which consists of unloading LNG from a vessel to a tanker truck-barge which moves to land and subsequently returns once the fuel has been distributed to the end-user,” said Naturgy.
The tanker truck can then again be sent ashore on the barge to restart the process.
Naturgy’s Head of LNG Projects Engineering & Technology, José Miguel Moreno, said the system will have positive impacts for the environment by bringing areas with difficult access into the logistic chains with maritime LNG supplies.
Moreno added that the system also allows more polluting fuels such as diesel or fuel oil to be replaced by cleaner LNG and regasified natural gas.
Naturgy is one of the companies that have signed 20-year agreements for US cargoes from Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi plants and is also a main contract holder for cargoes from the Yamal LNG plant in Arctic Russia operated by natural gas company Novatek.
The US and Russian volumes were booked under Naturgy's previous name, Gas Natural Fenosa.
The Spanish company’s diverse LNG supply portfolio also includes shipments from nations such as Algeria, Qatar and Nigeria. The company additionally owns a small fleet of LNG carriers.
The LNGonWheels solution has been devised by the Naturgy team of professionals who created DirectLinkLNG, subsequently developed by the technical team to the level of obtaining “Approval in Principle” from the American Bureau of Shipping, the US classification society.
“This latest solution reinforces Naturgy's innovative position in LNG, opening markets where until now it has not been possible to distribute LNG and allowing any type of end-user to access all the economic, energy and environmental advantages of using natural gas,” stated Naturgy.
