Following on from the Snøhvit liquefaction process design, the groundwork for even larger single LNG trains is well underway
The first plant using triple cycle MFC® technology will shortly be installed at Melkøya, near Hammerfest, to liquefy natural gas from the Snøhvit field. This is a single liquefaction process (a single LNG ‘train’) with a capacity of 4.3 million tonnes per annum (mpta).
Although this is a major achievement, StatoilHydro already foresees the need for even bigger LNG trains.
StatoilHydro and Linde researchers are therefore investigating the development of a single train capable of producing up to 9 mpta in cold climates and 8 mtpa in warm climates.
Design calculations even suggest that single train capacities in Arctic climates could eventually reach 13 mtpa.
Besides economy of scale, it is necessary to further develop a load-balanced or ‘symmetrical’ version of the MFC® process to accommodate the larger capacity, again using proven mechanical equipment (MFC®s3).
Flow chart of the load-balanced MFC®s3 process.
The term ‘load-balanced’ refers to the adoption of identical power input for each of the three cooling stages: pre-cooling, liquefaction and sub-cooling.
This is financially advantageous both in terms of running costs (particularly maintenance) and capital expenditure (for gas turbines or electric drive motors).
Triple cycle LNG processes have the potential for very large train capacities, whereas those with dual or single cycles are correspondingly smaller.
