EP3504473A1 - Regasification terminal and a method of operating such a regasification terminal - Google Patents

Regasification terminal and a method of operating such a regasification terminal

Info

Publication number
EP3504473A1
EP3504473A1 EP17751112.8A EP17751112A EP3504473A1 EP 3504473 A1 EP3504473 A1 EP 3504473A1 EP 17751112 A EP17751112 A EP 17751112A EP 3504473 A1 EP3504473 A1 EP 3504473A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
stream
lng
pressure
gas stream
pressurized
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP17751112.8A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Pablo Antonio VEGA PEREZ
Mees Hidde VAN DEN BERG
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV
Original Assignee
Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV filed Critical Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV
Publication of EP3504473A1 publication Critical patent/EP3504473A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C7/00—Methods or apparatus for discharging liquefied, solidified, or compressed gases from pressure vessels, not covered by another subclass
    • F17C7/02—Discharging liquefied gases
    • F17C7/04—Discharging liquefied gases with change of state, e.g. vaporisation
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2221/00—Handled fluid, in particular type of fluid
    • F17C2221/03—Mixtures
    • F17C2221/032—Hydrocarbons
    • F17C2221/033—Methane, e.g. natural gas, CNG, LNG, GNL, GNC, PLNG
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2223/00—Handled fluid before transfer, i.e. state of fluid when stored in the vessel or before transfer from the vessel
    • F17C2223/01—Handled fluid before transfer, i.e. state of fluid when stored in the vessel or before transfer from the vessel characterised by the phase
    • F17C2223/0146—Two-phase
    • F17C2223/0153—Liquefied gas, e.g. LPG, GPL
    • F17C2223/0161—Liquefied gas, e.g. LPG, GPL cryogenic, e.g. LNG, GNL, PLNG
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2223/00—Handled fluid before transfer, i.e. state of fluid when stored in the vessel or before transfer from the vessel
    • F17C2223/03—Handled fluid before transfer, i.e. state of fluid when stored in the vessel or before transfer from the vessel characterised by the pressure level
    • F17C2223/033—Small pressure, e.g. for liquefied gas
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2225/00—Handled fluid after transfer, i.e. state of fluid after transfer from the vessel
    • F17C2225/01—Handled fluid after transfer, i.e. state of fluid after transfer from the vessel characterised by the phase
    • F17C2225/0107—Single phase
    • F17C2225/0123—Single phase gaseous, e.g. CNG, GNC
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2225/00—Handled fluid after transfer, i.e. state of fluid after transfer from the vessel
    • F17C2225/01—Handled fluid after transfer, i.e. state of fluid after transfer from the vessel characterised by the phase
    • F17C2225/0146—Two-phase
    • F17C2225/0153—Liquefied gas, e.g. LPG, GPL
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2225/00—Handled fluid after transfer, i.e. state of fluid after transfer from the vessel
    • F17C2225/03—Handled fluid after transfer, i.e. state of fluid after transfer from the vessel characterised by the pressure level
    • F17C2225/035—High pressure, i.e. between 10 and 80 bars
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2227/00—Transfer of fluids, i.e. method or means for transferring the fluid; Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/01—Propulsion of the fluid
    • F17C2227/0128—Propulsion of the fluid with pumps or compressors
    • F17C2227/0135—Pumps
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2227/00—Transfer of fluids, i.e. method or means for transferring the fluid; Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/01—Propulsion of the fluid
    • F17C2227/0128—Propulsion of the fluid with pumps or compressors
    • F17C2227/0157—Compressors
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2227/00—Transfer of fluids, i.e. method or means for transferring the fluid; Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/03—Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/0302—Heat exchange with the fluid by heating
    • F17C2227/0306—Heat exchange with the fluid by heating using the same fluid
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2227/00—Transfer of fluids, i.e. method or means for transferring the fluid; Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/03—Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/0302—Heat exchange with the fluid by heating
    • F17C2227/0309—Heat exchange with the fluid by heating using another fluid
    • F17C2227/0311—Air heating
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2227/00—Transfer of fluids, i.e. method or means for transferring the fluid; Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/03—Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/0302—Heat exchange with the fluid by heating
    • F17C2227/0309—Heat exchange with the fluid by heating using another fluid
    • F17C2227/0316—Water heating
    • F17C2227/0318—Water heating using seawater
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2227/00—Transfer of fluids, i.e. method or means for transferring the fluid; Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/03—Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/0337—Heat exchange with the fluid by cooling
    • F17C2227/0339—Heat exchange with the fluid by cooling using the same fluid
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2227/00—Transfer of fluids, i.e. method or means for transferring the fluid; Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/03—Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/0367—Localisation of heat exchange
    • F17C2227/0388—Localisation of heat exchange separate
    • F17C2227/039—Localisation of heat exchange separate on the pipes
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2227/00—Transfer of fluids, i.e. method or means for transferring the fluid; Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/03—Heat exchange with the fluid
    • F17C2227/0367—Localisation of heat exchange
    • F17C2227/0388—Localisation of heat exchange separate
    • F17C2227/0393—Localisation of heat exchange separate using a vaporiser
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2265/00—Effects achieved by gas storage or gas handling
    • F17C2265/03—Treating the boil-off
    • F17C2265/032—Treating the boil-off by recovery
    • F17C2265/036—Treating the boil-off by recovery with heating
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2265/00—Effects achieved by gas storage or gas handling
    • F17C2265/03—Treating the boil-off
    • F17C2265/032—Treating the boil-off by recovery
    • F17C2265/037—Treating the boil-off by recovery with pressurising
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2265/00—Effects achieved by gas storage or gas handling
    • F17C2265/05—Regasification
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2265/00—Effects achieved by gas storage or gas handling
    • F17C2265/06—Fluid distribution
    • F17C2265/068—Distribution pipeline networks
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2270/00—Applications
    • F17C2270/01—Applications for fluid transport or storage
    • F17C2270/0134—Applications for fluid transport or storage placed above the ground
    • F17C2270/0136—Terminals

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a regasification terminal and a method of operating a regasification terminal.
  • Natural gas is a useful fuel source. However, it is often produced a relative large distance away from market. In such cases it may be desirable to liquefy natural gas in an LNG plant at or near the source of a natural gas stream. In the form of LNG natural gas can be stored and transported over long distances more readily than in gaseous form, because it occupies a smaller volume.
  • the LNG is transported by a suitable LNG carrier vessel to a regasification terminal (also referred to as
  • the cold present in the LNG is typically transferred to the ambient via cooling air or cooling water .
  • the LNG Before adding the heat, the LNG is often pressurized to meet the requirements of the gas grid.
  • the gas grid is at a pressure of above 60 bara, typically between 65 and 135 bara, e.g. 80 bara.
  • the revaporized natural gas product may then be sold to a customer, suitably via the gas grid .
  • WO2008012286, WO2013186271, WO2013186277 and WO2013186275 describe an apparatus and method for heating a liquefied stream. These documents focus in particular on heat
  • LNG may be produced, transported and stored at different pressures and associated temperatures. It will be understood that the exact combination of pressure and temperature at which natural gas liquefies (the boiling point), depends on the exact composition of the natural gas.
  • Atmospheric LNG is produced at a pressure close to atmospheric pressure, consequently at a temperature close to -162°C. Atmospheric LNG requires a relatively high cooling effort, but has the advantage that the LNG can be transported and stored under atmospheric pressure, minimizing the safety risks and reducing the costs of the storage tanks used for transportation and storage.
  • Pressurized LNG also referred to as cryo compressed LNG (ccLNG)
  • ccLNG cryo compressed LNG
  • the pressure of pressurized LNG may be above 2 bara or at least above 5 bara.
  • pressurized LNG may be produced at a pressure of 15 - 17 bara at a temperature of approximately -115°C.
  • Pressurized LNG has the advantage that less cooling effort is required making production less energy-consuming.
  • EP2442056 describes a method for producing pressurized liquefied natural gas (PLNG) and a production system
  • CA2550469 provides an example of a fiber reinforced plastic pressure vessel for retaining pressurized and liquefied natural gas.
  • the present invention provides a method of operating a regasification terminal, the method comprising:
  • the first pressure may be in the range of 1.05 to 1.25 bara .
  • the warmed cooling stream 14 may be combined with the remainder of the re-gas stream upstream of the regasifier unit at the intermediate pressure or the warmed cooling stream 14 and the remainder of the re-gas stream may be passed through the regasifier unit separately and be combined downstream of the regasifier unit at a pressure equal to or close to the gas grid pressure (third pressure) .
  • the re-gas stream has a temperature equal to the boiling point of the LNG at the first pressure.
  • the feed stream of pressurized LNG has a temperature equal to the boiling point of the pressurized LNG at the second pressure.
  • the LNG will be pumped to the desired gas grid pressure in two stages.
  • the first stage may be a in-tank pump which generates the re-gas stream (10) at the intermediate pressure and the second stage may be a high pressure pump which will deliver the differential pressure required to meet the pipeline conditions (typically between 65 and 135 bara) .
  • the cooling stream will be at a relatively cold temperature which results in improved cooling of the feed stream and the cooled feed stream will be closer to LNG storage saturation pressure, thereby minimizing flashing losses .
  • step (dl) By cooling the feed stream (40) against the cooling stream (11) (step (dl)) prior to expanding the cooled feed stream (43) to the first pressure (step (d2)) several advantages are obtained.
  • flashing will now take place downstream of the heat exchanger used for cooling in step (dl), which allows for a smaller heat exchanger which only needs to be suitable to deal with single-phase flows instead of gas-liquid mixed flows.
  • step (d2) the amount of boil-off gas generated by flashing is reduced because the cooled feed stream (43) is relatively colder by the time it is expanded in step (d2) .
  • the second pressure is above 3 bara, preferably above 5 bara, and more preferably above 12 bara .
  • pressurized LNG or ccLNG
  • ccLNG liquid natural gas which is kept at elevated pressures, meaning a pressure greater than 2 bara, preferably greater than 10 bara and more preferably greater than 12 bara.
  • pressurized LNG can be at a pressure in the range of 15 - 17 bara.
  • the temperature of the pressurized LNG is at the boiling temperature for the given pressure, which depends on the composition of the natural gas .
  • the at least one LNG storage tank comprises an LNG inlet (42), and d2) is performed using a valve or expander (41) positioned close to the associated LNG inlet (42), preferably at a distance less than 50 meters away from the associated LNG inlet (42) .
  • Expanding the cooled feed stream (43) will generate flash gas and thus a mixed flow regime comprising liquid and vapour.
  • a mixed flow regime comprising liquid and vapour.
  • the at least one LNG storage tank comprises an LNG inlet (42), and d2) is performed using a valve or expander positioned at a level substantially at or above the associated LNG inlet (42), preferably at the tank top platform of the associated LNG inlet (42) .
  • substantially at is used here to indicate a height difference of less then 10 meters or preferably less than 5 meters .
  • pressurizing and warming of the two streams takes place before combining the streams.
  • the method thus comprises pressurizing and warming the warmed cooling stream (14), using a first compressor and first re-gasifier heat exchanger, thereby obtaining a first regasified natural gas stream and, in parallel, pressurizing and warming the remainder of the re-gas stream, using a second compressor and second re-gasifier heat exchanger, thereby obtaining a second regasified natural gas stream.
  • the method further comprises obtaining a boil-off gas stream (70) from at least one of the LNG storage tanks (1), pressurizing the boil-off gas stream (70) thereby obtaining a pressurized boil-off gas stream (72) at said intermediate pressure and passing at least part of the pressurized boil-gas stream (73) to a recondenser (16) to be recondensed and combined with the remainder of the re-gas stream (10' ) .
  • the pressurized boil-off gas stream (73) By adding at least part of the pressurized boil-off gas stream (73) to the remainder of the re-gas stream (10') the pressurized boil-off gas stream is reliquefied.
  • the pressurized boil-off gas stream is at the intermediate pressure to allow mixing of these streams. It will be understood that in practice a small pressure
  • recondenser (16) comprising at least a portion (101) of the remainder of the re-gas stream (10' ) ,
  • Combining the warmed cooling stream (14) with the remainder of the re-gas stream and optionally with (part of) the boil-off gas stream may be done downstream of the recondensor (16) if present and upstream of the regasifier unit (20), in particular upstream of the high pressure pump which is part of the regasifier unit.
  • fl pressurizing the combined stream (10' ' ) to a third pressure to obtain a pressurized re-gas stream (13), f2) warming the pressurized re-gas stream (13), for instance against an ambient stream (22), in a re-gasifier heat exchanger (21) thereby obtaining a regasified natural gas stream (30) .
  • Fl is typically done by a high pressure compressor.
  • the third pressure may be above 60 bara, typically in the range of 65 - 135 bara, e.g. 80 bara and is preferably at least equal to the pressure in the gas grid 31.
  • the feed stream 40 is preferably obtained from a carrier vessel 60 comprising one or more pressurized LNG storage tanks 61 suitable/arranged to comprise pressurized LNG.
  • the flow rate of the feed stream (40) of pressurized LNG at the second pressure is below 2000 m 3 /hour, such as below 1500 m 3 /h or below 1000 m 3 /h.
  • the cooled feed stream (43) is allowed to reach a relatively low temperature, thereby reducing flashing in step (d2) .
  • a mass flow of the cooling stream (11) is controlled in response to one or more of the following parameters: a mass flow of the feed stream (40), a temperature of the feed stream, a pressure of the feed stream, a temperature of the cooling stream, a pressure of the cooling stream, a temperature of the cooled feed stream (43) and a temperature of the expanded cooled feed stream (43' ) .
  • the mass flow of the cooling stream (11) may be selected to be equal to the mass flow of the feed stream (40) .
  • a regasification terminal for regasifying LNG comprising - one or more LNG storage tanks (1), the one or more storage tanks (1) being at a first pressure, the first pressure being in the range of 0.8 - 1.5 bara,
  • a regasifier unit (20) comprising an inlet which is in fluid communication with the one or more LNG storage tanks to receive a re-gas stream (10) of LNG at an intermediate pressure in the range of 8 - 16 bara, and an outlet for discharging a regasified natural gas stream (30),
  • processing unit (5) comprising a heat exchanging unit (50) and an expansion device (41), wherein the heat
  • exchanging unit (50) comprises a pressurized LNG inlet (51) for receiving a feed stream (40) of pressurized LNG at a second pressure, the second pressure being above 2 bara, and a pressurized LNG outlet (52) for discharging a cooled feed stream (43), the pressurized LNG outlet (52) being in fluid communication with an inlet of the expansion device (41) for passing the cooled feed stream (43) to the expansion device (41), the expansion device comprising an outlet for
  • the heat exchanging unit (50) further comprises a cooling inlet (53) for receiving a cooling stream (11) at the intermediate pressure in the range of 8 - 16 bara to cool the feed stream (40), the cooling stream (11) comprising at least a portion of the re-gas stream (10) and the heat exchanging unit (50) further comprises a cooling outlet (54) for discharging a warmed cooling stream (14), the cooling outlet (54) being in fluid communication with the re-gas stream (10) at the intermediate pressure to recombine the warmed cooling stream (14) with a remainder of the re-gas stream.
  • x being in fluid communication with' is used to indicate that fluid can flow from the parts being in fluid communication and implies a physical connection being present to facilitate such a flow, such as a conduit or a pipe.
  • x releasable fluid communication' implies a physical connection that is suitable to be connected and released, such as a connection comprising a coupler.
  • the cooling outlet (54) is thus in fluid communication with the conduit carrying the re-gas stream to the regasifier unit (20) upstream of the regasifier unit (20) .
  • the at least one LNG storage tank comprises a LNG inlet (42) and the expansion device (41) comprises an outlet, the LNG inlet (42) and the outlet of the expansion device (41) being positioned close to each other, preferably at a distance less than 50 meters. The distance is measured along a centreline through the pipeline.
  • the at least one LNG storage tank comprises a LNG inlet (42) and the expansion device (41) comprises an outlet, the the outlet of the expansion device (41) being substantially at the same height or above the associated LNG inlet (42) .
  • the expansion device is preferably at the tank top platform of the associated LNG inlet (42) .
  • the term substantially at is used here to indicate a height difference of less then 10 meters or preferably less than 5 meters.
  • regasification terminal in which a feed stream of pressurized LNG from a pressurized LNG carrier is received at an
  • atmospheric regasification terminal which is designed and built to store LNG to be regasified at or close to
  • the cold energy that is released during regasification at the regasification terminal is not wasted, but at least partially used to cool the pressurized LNG into atmospheric LNG which can be stored in the LNG storage tanks present at the atmospheric regasification terminal.
  • a thermodynamically balanced process and potentially a higher regasification rate can be obtained.
  • atmospheric LNG is used to refer to liquid natural gas which is kept close to, preferably slightly above, atmospheric or ambient pressure.
  • the first pressure is typically in the range of 0.8 - 1.5 bara or 1.0 - 1.3 bara .
  • the first pressure in the storage tanks 1 may be in the range of 50 - 200 mbarg or 100 - 200 mbarg.
  • bara is used in this text is used to refer to absolute pressure, where the term barg is used to refer to bar gauge (zero-referenced against the atmospheric pressure) .
  • atmospheric LNG may be increased when being pumped.
  • the feed stream of pressurized LNG is transformed to atmospheric LNG and subsequently stored in an LNG storage tank.
  • the LNG storage tank can be a storage tank that is suitable for storing atmospheric LNG and does not need to be designed to withstand high pressures.
  • the regasification terminal is thus able to receive and process pressurized LNG without the need of pressurized LNG storage tanks.
  • a regas-stream of LNG is taken from the LNG storage tank and passed to a regasifier unit to produce natural gas at a pressure suitable to feed the regasified natural gas to the gas grid.
  • the feed stream of pressurized LNG is transformed to atmospheric LNG in an energy efficient manner by allowing the feed stream of pressurized LNG to exchange heat with the regas-stream in a heat exchanger and expanding the feed stream of pressurized LNG to atmospheric pressure, thereby achieving a cooling effect.
  • the regas-stream of LNG from the LNG storage tank may be regasified in any suitable regasifier unit, for instance as described in any of the following patent documents:
  • the regas-stream of LNG from the storage tank, or a side-stream thereof may be re-directed through a heat exchanging unit in which it is warmed against the feed stream of pressurized LNG , thereby obtaining a warmed re-gas stream, which is passed to the regasifier unit.
  • the warmed re-gas stream is optionally recombined with a remainder of the regas stream upstream of the upstream of the regasifier unit.
  • the feed stream of pressurized LNG is fed to the heat exchanger unit to be cooled against a (side-stream of the) re-gas stream and expanded to atmospheric pressure to obtain the processed feed stream comprising LNG .
  • the processed feed stream may be passed directly to the (atmospheric) LNG
  • a gas-liquid separator to obtain a liquid stream which is passed to the LNG storage tank and a gaseous stream which may be reliquefied via a re- liquefying unit, e.g. may be passed to the LNG storage tank via a re-liquefying unit or may be reliquefied via a
  • the proposed method and regas terminal have the advantage that there is no need for additional safety measures or reinforced hardware to process and store pressurized LNG, other than the piping up to the point where the pressure of the pressurized LNG is reduced to the first pressure.
  • Re-gas terminals can now receive pressurized LNG in an efficient and safe way, while at the same time being suitable to receive atmospheric LNG.
  • Existing re-gas terminals having atmospheric LNG storage tanks can be integrated with the pressurized LNG value chain with minimal additional equipment and change of plant design.
  • processing atmospheric LNG can be modified with minimal hardware investments to also be suitable to receive
  • Fig. 1 schematically shows a regasification terminal.
  • the regasification terminal comprises a storage tank 1 at a first pressure comprising LNG.
  • a re-gas stream 10 is obtained by using a suitable pump 2.
  • the re-gas stream 10 will therefore have an intermediate pressure above the first pressure.
  • the LNG storage tank 1 is in fluid connection with a regasifier unit 20 via a re-gas stream conduit.
  • regasifier unit 20 is arranged to receive the re-gas stream and generate and discharge a regasified natural gas stream 30 and pass the regasified natural gas stream to the gas grid, schematically indicated with reference 31.
  • the re-gasifier unit 20 is arranged to:
  • FIG. 1 schematically shows a compressor 12 having an inlet arranged to receive the re-gas stream and an outlet to discharge the pressurized re-gas stream 13.
  • the outlet of the compressor 12 is in fluid communication via conduit 13 with an inlet of (one or more) re-gasifier heat exchanger 21.
  • the re-gasifier heat exchanger comprises a first flow path between the inlet of the re-gasifier heat exchanger 21 and an outlet of the re-gasifier heat exchanger 21 and a second flow path between an ambient inlet and an ambient outlet, such that the first and second flow paths can exchange heat.
  • the ambient stream may be a stream comprising ambient air or a stream comprising water, such as sea water.
  • Pressurizing is preferably performed upstream of re- gasifier heat exchanger 21 as warming against an ambient stream can be done more effectively at a higher pressure.
  • the third pressure is preferably at least equal to a required output pressure of the regasified natural gas stream 30, such as a gas grid pressure, typically above 60 bara, e.g. 80 bara.
  • the outlet of the re-gasifier heat exchanger 21 is in fluid communication with the gas grid 31.
  • Fig. 1 further shows a carrier vessel 60 comprising one or more pressurized LNG storage tanks 61 arranged to comprise pressurized LNG.
  • the carrier vessel 60 is not part of the regasification terminal.
  • the regasification terminal comprises a processing unit 5 comprising a heat exchanging unit 50 and an expansion device 41.
  • the expansion device 41 is positioned downstream of the heat exchanging unit 50 with respect to the flow direction of the feed stream 40.
  • the heat exchanging unit 50 may be an indirect heat exchanger of any suitable type, such as a plate heat
  • the heat exchanging unit 50 may comprise one or more (serial/parallel) heat exchangers.
  • the heat exchanging unit 50 comprises a pressurized LNG inlet 51 for receiving a feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG at a second pressure, the second pressure being above 2 bara.
  • the pressurized LNG inlet may be arranged to be brought into a releasable connection with one or more pressurized LNG storage tanks 61 comprising pressurized LNG, e.g. on a carrier vessel 60.
  • the heat exchanging unit 50 further comprises a
  • pressurized LNG outlet 52 for discharging a cooled feed stream 43.
  • the cooled feed stream 43 is still at the second pressure, except for a de minimus, indeliberate, pressure drop resulting from the flow through piping and the heat exchanging unit 50.
  • the pressurized LNG outlet 52 is in fluid communication with an inlet of the expansion device 41 for passing the cooled feed stream 43 to the expansion device 41.
  • the expansion device may be a JT valve or an expander and generates an expanded cooled feed stream 43' .
  • the heat exchanging unit 50 further comprises an outlet for
  • the expanded cooled feed stream 43' will partially flash off thereby creating a mixed flow of gas and liquid. Mixed flows can cause vibrations which may cause damage/issues to the pipework. This is especially the case in pipework bridging a height difference.
  • JT valve or expander is positioned close to the LNG inlet 42 and, preferably at a height substantially equal to the height of the LNG inlet 42.
  • substantially equal is used here to indicate a height difference to be covered by the expanded cooled feed stream 43' when flowing from the expansion device 41 to the LNG inlet 42 of less than 10 meters, preferably less than 5 meters .
  • the heat exchanging unit 50 further comprises a cooling inlet 53 for receiving a cooling stream 11 at the
  • the cooling stream 11 is (a side-stream of ) the re-gas stream 10 at the intermediate pressure.
  • the heat exchanging unit 50 comprises a cooling outlet 54 for discharging a warmed cooling stream 14 to be fed back to the re-gas stream 10 at the intermediate pressure to
  • the re-gas stream 10 may at least partially be passed through a recondenser 16 to recondense (at least part of) a boil-off gas stream 73 obtained from the LNG storage tanks 1.
  • the recondenser 16 is arranged to receive a liquid recondenser feed stream comprising at least a portion 101 of the remainder of the re-gas stream 10' and a vapour recondenser feed stream comprising (at least part of) the pressurized boil-off gas stream 73 (as explained in more detail below) .
  • These two streams combine into a recondensed stream 18, which is then recombined with the rest of the re- gas stream 102, to be passed to the regasifier unit 20 as part of the combined stream 10' ' .
  • the warmed cooling stream 14 is also added to the combined stream either downstream of the recondenser 16 (as shown) or upstream of the recondenser 16, for instance to the rest of the re-gas stream 102 before being recombined with the recondensed stream 18, but upstream of the re-gasifier unit 20.
  • the warmed cooling stream 14 is at the intermediate pressure and is added to a stream at the intermediate pressure .
  • pressurized LNG or expanded feed stream 42 are allowed to exchange heat in the heat exchanging unit 50.
  • the cooling stream 11 will typically have a lower temperature than the feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG, the cooling stream 11 will be warmed and the feed stream 40 will be cooled.
  • the warmed cooling stream 14, obtained at the cooling outlet 54 is passed to the regasifier unit 20.
  • the warming duty of the regasifier unit 20 can be reduced while maintaining a similar output rate or the output rate of the regasifier unit 20 can be increased with a similar warming duty.
  • the cooling stream 11 is generated as a side-stream of the re-gas stream 10 at the intermediate pressure and the warmed cooling stream 14 is recombined with a remainder of the re-gas stream 10 at the intermediate pressure, thus upstream of the regasifier unit.
  • the flow rate of the cooling stream 11 may, among other factors, depend on the flow rate of the feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG, the temperature and pressure of the feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG, the efficiency of the cooling of the feed stream 40 against the cooling stream 11 etc.
  • the mass flow rate of the cooling stream 11 may be at least at 10% of the mass flow rate of the re-gas stream 10, at least 25% of the mass flow rate of the re-gas stream, at least 50% or at least 75% of the mass flow rate of the re-gas stream.
  • the cooling stream 11 has a mass flow rate of more than 95% of the mass flow rate of the re- gas stream or even 100% of the mass flow rate of the re-gas stream.
  • the method may comprise controlling the mass flow rate of the cooling stream in response to one or more of these factors .
  • the mass flow rate can be expressed as kg/s .
  • the expanded cooled feed stream 43' may be directly passed to the at least one of the LNG storage tanks 1 as shown in Fig. 1.
  • the term directly is used here to indicate that no further substantial processing steps are performed in between, such as separation steps, pressure changing steps or temperature changing steps .
  • Fig. 1 further shows a boil-off gas stream 70 that is obtained from the at least one of the LNG storage tanks 1. Further comprised is a first boil-off gas compressor 71, arranged to receive the boil-off gas stream 70 and pressurize the boil-off gas stream to obtain a pressurized boil-off gas stream 72 at said intermediate pressure.
  • the pressurized boil-off gas stream 72 may be (partially) passed to the recondenser 16 as vapour recondenser feed stream as described above.
  • the pressurized boil-off gas stream 72 may be
  • the entire preessurized boil-off gas stream 72 is either passed to the recondenser 16 or to the second boil-off gas compressor 75.
  • the method comprises
  • B)-f) can be executed when a supply of pressurized LNG at a second pressure is available and interrupted when no supply of pressurized LNG at a second pressure is available. If no supply of pressurized LNG is available, the re-gas stream 10 is passed to the regasifier unit 20.
  • the feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG at a second pressure may be received from a carrier vessel 60.
  • B) - f) are only executed when a loaded carrier vessel is present and connected to the regasification terminal. In case the carrier vessel is not connected, does not comprise any pressurized LNG at the second pressure or no carrier vessel is present, b) - f) are interrupted.
  • the regasification terminal is operated by executing a) and, instead of f) executing f' ) , with
  • a) comprises controlling a flow rate of the re-gas stream 10 by
  • the method comprises
  • the warming duty can for instance be controlled by controlling a flow rate of the ambient stream 22 in the regasifier heat exchanger 21.
  • the regasifier unit When a feed stream of pressurized LNG at a second pressure is being received, the regasifier unit can be operated more efficiently and the warming duty can be lowered, as part of the warming duty is obtained from the pressurized LNG.

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Abstract

The invention relates to a method of operating a regasification terminal, comprising: a) obtaining a re-gas stream (10) of LNG from one or more LNG storage tanks (1), the re-gas stream (10) being at an 5 intermediate pressure in the range of 8 – 16 bara, b) splitting the re-gas stream (10) in a cooling stream (11) and a remainder of the re-gas stream (10'), c) receiving a feed stream (40) of pressurized LNG at a second pressure, the second pressure being above 2 bara, 10 d1) cooling the feed stream (40) against the cooling stream (11), and d2) expanding the cooled feed stream (43) to the first pressure thereby obtaining an expanded cooled feed stream (43'), 15 e) passing the expanded cooled feed stream (43') to at least one of the LNG storage tanks (1) and f) passing at least the remainder of the re-gas stream (10') to a regasifier unit (20).

Description

Regasification terminal and
a method of operating such a regasification terminal
The present invention relates to a regasification terminal and a method of operating a regasification terminal.
Natural gas is a useful fuel source. However, it is often produced a relative large distance away from market. In such cases it may be desirable to liquefy natural gas in an LNG plant at or near the source of a natural gas stream. In the form of LNG natural gas can be stored and transported over long distances more readily than in gaseous form, because it occupies a smaller volume.
The LNG is transported by a suitable LNG carrier vessel to a regasification terminal (also referred to as
revaporizing terminal or import terminal) , where it is revaporized before being fed to the gas grid. In a
regasification terminal the cold present in the LNG is typically transferred to the ambient via cooling air or cooling water .
In order to revaporize the LNG heat may be added to the
LNG. Before adding the heat, the LNG is often pressurized to meet the requirements of the gas grid. Typically, the gas grid is at a pressure of above 60 bara, typically between 65 and 135 bara, e.g. 80 bara. The revaporized natural gas product may then be sold to a customer, suitably via the gas grid .
Regasification terminals and methods to regasify LNG are known in the art and are for instance described in patent application publication US2010/0000233, US2006/0242969.
WO2008012286, WO2013186271, WO2013186277 and WO2013186275 describe an apparatus and method for heating a liquefied stream. These documents focus in particular on heat
exchangers to transfer heat from the ambient to the liquefied stream by cycling a heat transfer fluid through a circuit from a first heat transfer zone to a second heat transfer zone .
LNG may be produced, transported and stored at different pressures and associated temperatures. It will be understood that the exact combination of pressure and temperature at which natural gas liquefies (the boiling point), depends on the exact composition of the natural gas.
Atmospheric LNG is produced at a pressure close to atmospheric pressure, consequently at a temperature close to -162°C. Atmospheric LNG requires a relatively high cooling effort, but has the advantage that the LNG can be transported and stored under atmospheric pressure, minimizing the safety risks and reducing the costs of the storage tanks used for transportation and storage.
Pressurized LNG (also referred to as cryo compressed LNG (ccLNG) ) is produced at a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure and at a temperature equal to the boiling point of the natural gas, the exact value depending on the composition of the natural gas. The pressure of pressurized LNG may be above 2 bara or at least above 5 bara. For instance,
pressurized LNG may be produced at a pressure of 15 - 17 bara at a temperature of approximately -115°C. Pressurized LNG has the advantage that less cooling effort is required making production less energy-consuming.
EP2442056 describes a method for producing pressurized liquefied natural gas (PLNG) and a production system
therefor .
However, transportation and storage of pressurized LNG requires additional safety measures and relatively more expensive and difficult to manufacture storage tanks
(pressurized containers), as the tanks should be reinforced to withstand the elevated pressure. CA2550469 provides an example of a fiber reinforced plastic pressure vessel for retaining pressurized and liquefied natural gas.
Reference is hereby made to European patent application having application number 15174303.6 filed in the name of the current applicant. At the time of filing of the present application, 15174303.6 was not yet published and is
therefore only relevant for assessing novelty of the current patent application and not relevant for assessing inventive step .
It is an object to provide an improved integration of pressurized LNG with the regasification terminal, which reduces at least some of the safety risks associated with the pressurized LNG value chain.
The present invention provides a method of operating a regasification terminal, the method comprising:
a) obtaining a re-gas stream (10) of LNG from one or more LNG storage tanks (1), the one or more storage tanks (1) being at a first pressure in the range of 0.8 - 1.5 bara, the re-gas stream (10) being at an intermediate pressure in the range of 8 - 16 bara,
b) splitting the re-gas stream (10) in a cooling stream (11) and a remainder of the re-gas stream (10' ),
c) receiving a feed stream (40) of pressurized LNG at a second pressure, the second pressure being above 2 bara, dl) cooling the feed stream (40) against the cooling stream
(11) thereby obtaining a cooled feed stream (43) and a warmed cooling stream (14), and
d2) expanding the cooled feed stream (43) to the first pressure thereby obtaining an expanded cooled feed stream (43'),
e) passing the expanded cooled feed stream (43')to at least one of the LNG storage tanks (1) and f ) passing at least the remainder of the re-gas stream (10') to a regasifier unit (20) .
The first pressure may be in the range of 1.05 to 1.25 bara .
The warmed cooling stream 14 may be combined with the remainder of the re-gas stream upstream of the regasifier unit at the intermediate pressure or the warmed cooling stream 14 and the remainder of the re-gas stream may be passed through the regasifier unit separately and be combined downstream of the regasifier unit at a pressure equal to or close to the gas grid pressure (third pressure) .
The re-gas stream has a temperature equal to the boiling point of the LNG at the first pressure. The feed stream of pressurized LNG has a temperature equal to the boiling point of the pressurized LNG at the second pressure.
Typically, the LNG will be pumped to the desired gas grid pressure in two stages. The first stage may be a in-tank pump which generates the re-gas stream (10) at the intermediate pressure and the second stage may be a high pressure pump which will deliver the differential pressure required to meet the pipeline conditions (typically between 65 and 135 bara) . By obtaining the cooling stream from the re-gas stream being at the intermediate pressure rather than from a higher pressure stream, the cooling stream will be at a relatively cold temperature which results in improved cooling of the feed stream and the cooled feed stream will be closer to LNG storage saturation pressure, thereby minimizing flashing losses .
By cooling the feed stream (40) against the cooling stream (11) (step (dl)) prior to expanding the cooled feed stream (43) to the first pressure (step (d2)) several advantages are obtained. In the first place, flashing will now take place downstream of the heat exchanger used for cooling in step (dl), which allows for a smaller heat exchanger which only needs to be suitable to deal with single-phase flows instead of gas-liquid mixed flows.
Secondly, the amount of boil-off gas generated by flashing is reduced because the cooled feed stream (43) is relatively colder by the time it is expanded in step (d2) .
According to an embodiment, the second pressure is above 3 bara, preferably above 5 bara, and more preferably above 12 bara .
The term pressurized LNG (or ccLNG) is used to refer to liquid natural gas which is kept at elevated pressures, meaning a pressure greater than 2 bara, preferably greater than 10 bara and more preferably greater than 12 bara.
According to an example, pressurized LNG can be at a pressure in the range of 15 - 17 bara. The temperature of the pressurized LNG is at the boiling temperature for the given pressure, which depends on the composition of the natural gas .
According to an embodiment the at least one LNG storage tank comprises an LNG inlet (42), and d2) is performed using a valve or expander (41) positioned close to the associated LNG inlet (42), preferably at a distance less than 50 meters away from the associated LNG inlet (42) .
Expanding the cooled feed stream (43) will generate flash gas and thus a mixed flow regime comprising liquid and vapour. By minimizing the distance to less than 50 meters, preferably less than 20 meters, more preferably to less than 10 meters, the need to convey mixed flow regimes (liquid vapour mixtures) through pipelines and associated
difficulties, like multiphase-flow induced vibrations, are kept to a minimum.
The distance is measured along a centreline through the pipeline . According to an embodiment the at least one LNG storage tank comprises an LNG inlet (42), and d2) is performed using a valve or expander positioned at a level substantially at or above the associated LNG inlet (42), preferably at the tank top platform of the associated LNG inlet (42) .
The term substantially at is used here to indicate a height difference of less then 10 meters or preferably less than 5 meters .
This prevents mixed flow regimes in LNG raiser lines and therefore minimizes multiphase flow induced vibrations, which typically arise in vertical flow paths. Furthermore, the size and complexity of the cooler exchanger are mimized.
According to an embodiment the method further comprises
- combining the warmed cooling stream (14) with the remainder of the re-gas stream thereby obtaining a combined stream (10'') and passing the combined stream (10'') to the regasifier unit (20) or
- passing the warmed cooling stream (14) and the remainder of the re-gas stream to the regasifier unit (20) as separate parallel streams to be regasified separately.
According to the this last option, pressurizing and warming of the two streams takes place before combining the streams. The method thus comprises pressurizing and warming the warmed cooling stream (14), using a first compressor and first re-gasifier heat exchanger, thereby obtaining a first regasified natural gas stream and, in parallel, pressurizing and warming the remainder of the re-gas stream, using a second compressor and second re-gasifier heat exchanger, thereby obtaining a second regasified natural gas stream.
According to an embodiment the method further comprises obtaining a boil-off gas stream (70) from at least one of the LNG storage tanks (1), pressurizing the boil-off gas stream (70) thereby obtaining a pressurized boil-off gas stream (72) at said intermediate pressure and passing at least part of the pressurized boil-gas stream (73) to a recondenser (16) to be recondensed and combined with the remainder of the re-gas stream (10' ) .
By adding at least part of the pressurized boil-off gas stream (73) to the remainder of the re-gas stream (10') the pressurized boil-off gas stream is reliquefied.
Preferably the pressurized boil-off gas stream is at the intermediate pressure to allow mixing of these streams. It will be understood that in practice a small pressure
difference could be present.
According to such an embodiment the method comprises
- feeding a liquid recondenser feed stream to the
recondenser (16) comprising at least a portion (101) of the remainder of the re-gas stream (10' ) ,
- feeding a vapour recondenser feed stream to the
recondenser (16) comprising the at least part of the
pressurized boil-off gas stream (73),
- obtaining a recondensed stream (18) from the recondenser (16) comprising at least the liquid and vapour recondenser feed streams and
- passing the recondensed stream (18) to the regasifier unit (20) as part of the combined stream (10'') .
Combining the warmed cooling stream (14) with the remainder of the re-gas stream and optionally with (part of) the boil-off gas stream, may be done downstream of the recondensor (16) if present and upstream of the regasifier unit (20), in particular upstream of the high pressure pump which is part of the regasifier unit.
According to an embodiment f) comprises
fl ) pressurizing the combined stream (10' ' ) to a third pressure to obtain a pressurized re-gas stream (13), f2) warming the pressurized re-gas stream (13), for instance against an ambient stream (22), in a re-gasifier heat exchanger (21) thereby obtaining a regasified natural gas stream (30) .
Fl is typically done by a high pressure compressor.
The third pressure may be above 60 bara, typically in the range of 65 - 135 bara, e.g. 80 bara and is preferably at least equal to the pressure in the gas grid 31.
The feed stream 40 is preferably obtained from a carrier vessel 60 comprising one or more pressurized LNG storage tanks 61 suitable/arranged to comprise pressurized LNG.
According to an embodiment, the flow rate of the feed stream (40) of pressurized LNG at the second pressure is below 2000 m3/hour, such as below 1500 m3/h or below 1000 m3/h.
By keeping the flow rate of the feed stream below the indicated value, the cooled feed stream (43) is allowed to reach a relatively low temperature, thereby reducing flashing in step (d2) .
According to an embodiment a mass flow of the cooling stream (11) is controlled in response to one or more of the following parameters: a mass flow of the feed stream (40), a temperature of the feed stream, a pressure of the feed stream, a temperature of the cooling stream, a pressure of the cooling stream, a temperature of the cooled feed stream (43) and a temperature of the expanded cooled feed stream (43' ) .
The mass flow of the cooling stream (11) may be selected to be equal to the mass flow of the feed stream (40) .
According to a further aspect there is provided a regasification terminal for regasifying LNG, comprising - one or more LNG storage tanks (1), the one or more storage tanks (1) being at a first pressure, the first pressure being in the range of 0.8 - 1.5 bara,
- a regasifier unit (20) comprising an inlet which is in fluid communication with the one or more LNG storage tanks to receive a re-gas stream (10) of LNG at an intermediate pressure in the range of 8 - 16 bara, and an outlet for discharging a regasified natural gas stream (30),
- a processing unit (5) comprising a heat exchanging unit (50) and an expansion device (41), wherein the heat
exchanging unit (50) comprises a pressurized LNG inlet (51) for receiving a feed stream (40) of pressurized LNG at a second pressure, the second pressure being above 2 bara, and a pressurized LNG outlet (52) for discharging a cooled feed stream (43), the pressurized LNG outlet (52) being in fluid communication with an inlet of the expansion device (41) for passing the cooled feed stream (43) to the expansion device (41), the expansion device comprising an outlet for
discharging an expanded cooled feed stream (43' ) to the one or more LNG storage tanks (1),
wherein the heat exchanging unit (50) further comprises a cooling inlet (53) for receiving a cooling stream (11) at the intermediate pressure in the range of 8 - 16 bara to cool the feed stream (40), the cooling stream (11) comprising at least a portion of the re-gas stream (10) and the heat exchanging unit (50) further comprises a cooling outlet (54) for discharging a warmed cooling stream (14), the cooling outlet (54) being in fluid communication with the re-gas stream (10) at the intermediate pressure to recombine the warmed cooling stream (14) with a remainder of the re-gas stream.
The term xbeing in fluid communication with' is used to indicate that fluid can flow from the parts being in fluid communication and implies a physical connection being present to facilitate such a flow, such as a conduit or a pipe. The term xreleasable fluid communication' implies a physical connection that is suitable to be connected and released, such as a connection comprising a coupler.
The cooling outlet (54) is thus in fluid communication with the conduit carrying the re-gas stream to the regasifier unit (20) upstream of the regasifier unit (20) .
The at least one LNG storage tank comprises a LNG inlet (42) and the expansion device (41) comprises an outlet, the LNG inlet (42) and the outlet of the expansion device (41) being positioned close to each other, preferably at a distance less than 50 meters. The distance is measured along a centreline through the pipeline.
The at least one LNG storage tank comprises a LNG inlet (42) and the expansion device (41) comprises an outlet, the the outlet of the expansion device (41) being substantially at the same height or above the associated LNG inlet (42) . The expansion device is preferably at the tank top platform of the associated LNG inlet (42) . The term substantially at is used here to indicate a height difference of less then 10 meters or preferably less than 5 meters.
The invention will be further illustrated hereinafter, using examples and with reference to Figure 1, schematically showing an embodiment. A single reference number will be used to identify a conduit or line as well as the stream conveyed by that line.
It is presently proposed to provide a method and
regasification terminal in which a feed stream of pressurized LNG from a pressurized LNG carrier is received at an
atmospheric regasification terminal, which is designed and built to store LNG to be regasified at or close to
atmospheric pressure. The cold energy that is released during regasification at the regasification terminal is not wasted, but at least partially used to cool the pressurized LNG into atmospheric LNG which can be stored in the LNG storage tanks present at the atmospheric regasification terminal. By using the cold energy from the regasification process effectively, a thermodynamically balanced process and potentially a higher regasification rate can be obtained.
The term atmospheric LNG is used to refer to liquid natural gas which is kept close to, preferably slightly above, atmospheric or ambient pressure. The first pressure is typically in the range of 0.8 - 1.5 bara or 1.0 - 1.3 bara . The first pressure in the storage tanks 1 may be in the range of 50 - 200 mbarg or 100 - 200 mbarg.
The term bara is used in this text is used to refer to absolute pressure, where the term barg is used to refer to bar gauge (zero-referenced against the atmospheric pressure) .
It will be understood that the pressure of the
atmospheric LNG may be increased when being pumped.
The feed stream of pressurized LNG is transformed to atmospheric LNG and subsequently stored in an LNG storage tank. The LNG storage tank can be a storage tank that is suitable for storing atmospheric LNG and does not need to be designed to withstand high pressures. The regasification terminal is thus able to receive and process pressurized LNG without the need of pressurized LNG storage tanks.
A regas-stream of LNG is taken from the LNG storage tank and passed to a regasifier unit to produce natural gas at a pressure suitable to feed the regasified natural gas to the gas grid.
The feed stream of pressurized LNG is transformed to atmospheric LNG in an energy efficient manner by allowing the feed stream of pressurized LNG to exchange heat with the regas-stream in a heat exchanger and expanding the feed stream of pressurized LNG to atmospheric pressure, thereby achieving a cooling effect.
During times when no feed stream of pressurized LNG is present, e.g. when no pressurized LNG carrier is moored at the regasification terminal and busy off-loading pressurized LNG , the regas-stream of LNG from the LNG storage tank may be regasified in any suitable regasifier unit, for instance as described in any of the following patent documents:
WO2008012286, WO2013186271, WO2013186277 and WO2013186275.
When a pressurized LNG carrier is present and busy off¬ loading, the regas-stream of LNG from the storage tank, or a side-stream thereof, may be re-directed through a heat exchanging unit in which it is warmed against the feed stream of pressurized LNG , thereby obtaining a warmed re-gas stream, which is passed to the regasifier unit. The warmed re-gas stream is optionally recombined with a remainder of the regas stream upstream of the upstream of the regasifier unit.
The feed stream of pressurized LNG is fed to the heat exchanger unit to be cooled against a (side-stream of the) re-gas stream and expanded to atmospheric pressure to obtain the processed feed stream comprising LNG . The processed feed stream may be passed directly to the (atmospheric) LNG
storage tank or may be passed to a gas-liquid separator to obtain a liquid stream which is passed to the LNG storage tank and a gaseous stream which may be reliquefied via a re- liquefying unit, e.g. may be passed to the LNG storage tank via a re-liquefying unit or may be reliquefied via a
recondenser .
Expansion takes place downstream of the heat exchanger unit .
The proposed method and regas terminal have the advantage that there is no need for additional safety measures or reinforced hardware to process and store pressurized LNG, other than the piping up to the point where the pressure of the pressurized LNG is reduced to the first pressure. Re-gas terminals can now receive pressurized LNG in an efficient and safe way, while at the same time being suitable to receive atmospheric LNG. Existing re-gas terminals having atmospheric LNG storage tanks can be integrated with the pressurized LNG value chain with minimal additional equipment and change of plant design. Existing re-gas terminals suitable for
processing atmospheric LNG can be modified with minimal hardware investments to also be suitable to receive
pressurized LNG.
An embodiments will now be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 schematically shows a regasification terminal. The regasification terminal comprises a storage tank 1 at a first pressure comprising LNG. A re-gas stream 10 is obtained by using a suitable pump 2. The re-gas stream 10 will therefore have an intermediate pressure above the first pressure.
The LNG storage tank 1 is in fluid connection with a regasifier unit 20 via a re-gas stream conduit. The
regasifier unit 20 is arranged to receive the re-gas stream and generate and discharge a regasified natural gas stream 30 and pass the regasified natural gas stream to the gas grid, schematically indicated with reference 31.
According to an embodiment the re-gasifier unit 20 is arranged to:
- pressurize the re-gas stream 10 to a third pressure to obtain a pressurized re-gas stream 13,
- warming at least part of the pressurized re-gas stream
13 against an ambient stream 22 in a re-gasifier heat exchanger 21. Fig. 1 schematically shows a compressor 12 having an inlet arranged to receive the re-gas stream and an outlet to discharge the pressurized re-gas stream 13. The outlet of the compressor 12 is in fluid communication via conduit 13 with an inlet of (one or more) re-gasifier heat exchanger 21. The re-gasifier heat exchanger comprises a first flow path between the inlet of the re-gasifier heat exchanger 21 and an outlet of the re-gasifier heat exchanger 21 and a second flow path between an ambient inlet and an ambient outlet, such that the first and second flow paths can exchange heat.
The ambient stream may be a stream comprising ambient air or a stream comprising water, such as sea water.
Pressurizing is preferably performed upstream of re- gasifier heat exchanger 21 as warming against an ambient stream can be done more effectively at a higher pressure.
The third pressure is preferably at least equal to a required output pressure of the regasified natural gas stream 30, such as a gas grid pressure, typically above 60 bara, e.g. 80 bara.
The outlet of the re-gasifier heat exchanger 21 is in fluid communication with the gas grid 31.
Fig. 1 further shows a carrier vessel 60 comprising one or more pressurized LNG storage tanks 61 arranged to comprise pressurized LNG. The carrier vessel 60 is not part of the regasification terminal.
The feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG obtained from the carrier vessel 60 comprises less than 250ppm C02, more preferably less than 150 ppm C02 and even more preferably less than 50 ppm C02 (ppm = parts per million) .
The regasification terminal comprises a processing unit 5 comprising a heat exchanging unit 50 and an expansion device 41. The expansion device 41 is positioned downstream of the heat exchanging unit 50 with respect to the flow direction of the feed stream 40.
The heat exchanging unit 50 may be an indirect heat exchanger of any suitable type, such as a plate heat
exchanger, a shell and tube heat exchanger or any other suitable heat exchanger. The heat exchanging unit 50 may comprise one or more (serial/parallel) heat exchangers.
The heat exchanging unit 50 comprises a pressurized LNG inlet 51 for receiving a feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG at a second pressure, the second pressure being above 2 bara.
The pressurized LNG inlet may be arranged to be brought into a releasable connection with one or more pressurized LNG storage tanks 61 comprising pressurized LNG, e.g. on a carrier vessel 60.
The heat exchanging unit 50 further comprises a
pressurized LNG outlet 52 for discharging a cooled feed stream 43. The cooled feed stream 43 is still at the second pressure, except for a de minimus, indeliberate, pressure drop resulting from the flow through piping and the heat exchanging unit 50.
The pressurized LNG outlet 52 is in fluid communication with an inlet of the expansion device 41 for passing the cooled feed stream 43 to the expansion device 41. The expansion device may be a JT valve or an expander and generates an expanded cooled feed stream 43' . The heat exchanging unit 50 further comprises an outlet for
discharging the expanded cooled feed stream 43' to the one or more LNG storage tanks 1.
After the expansion in JT valve or expander 42, the expanded cooled feed stream 43' will partially flash off thereby creating a mixed flow of gas and liquid. Mixed flows can cause vibrations which may cause damage/issues to the pipework. This is especially the case in pipework bridging a height difference.
Therefore, JT valve or expander is positioned close to the LNG inlet 42 and, preferably at a height substantially equal to the height of the LNG inlet 42. The term
substantially equal is used here to indicate a height difference to be covered by the expanded cooled feed stream 43' when flowing from the expansion device 41 to the LNG inlet 42 of less than 10 meters, preferably less than 5 meters .
The heat exchanging unit 50 further comprises a cooling inlet 53 for receiving a cooling stream 11 at the
intermediate pressure in the range of 8 - 16 bara to cool the feed stream 40. The cooling stream 11 is (a side-stream of ) the re-gas stream 10 at the intermediate pressure.
The heat exchanging unit 50 comprises a cooling outlet 54 for discharging a warmed cooling stream 14 to be fed back to the re-gas stream 10 at the intermediate pressure to
recombine the warmed cooling stream 14 with a remainder of the re-gas stream 10' forming combined stream 10'' .
As shown in Fig. 1, the re-gas stream 10 may at least partially be passed through a recondenser 16 to recondense (at least part of) a boil-off gas stream 73 obtained from the LNG storage tanks 1. The recondenser 16 is arranged to receive a liquid recondenser feed stream comprising at least a portion 101 of the remainder of the re-gas stream 10' and a vapour recondenser feed stream comprising (at least part of) the pressurized boil-off gas stream 73 (as explained in more detail below) . These two streams combine into a recondensed stream 18, which is then recombined with the rest of the re- gas stream 102, to be passed to the regasifier unit 20 as part of the combined stream 10' ' . The warmed cooling stream 14 is also added to the combined stream either downstream of the recondenser 16 (as shown) or upstream of the recondenser 16, for instance to the rest of the re-gas stream 102 before being recombined with the recondensed stream 18, but upstream of the re-gasifier unit 20. The warmed cooling stream 14 is at the intermediate pressure and is added to a stream at the intermediate pressure .
The cooling stream 11 and the feed stream 40 of
pressurized LNG or expanded feed stream 42 are allowed to exchange heat in the heat exchanging unit 50. As the cooling stream 11 will typically have a lower temperature than the feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG, the cooling stream 11 will be warmed and the feed stream 40 will be cooled.
The warmed cooling stream 14, obtained at the cooling outlet 54 is passed to the regasifier unit 20.
As the warmed cooling stream 14 is warm with respect to the (pressurized) re-gas stream, the warming duty of the regasifier unit 20 can be reduced while maintaining a similar output rate or the output rate of the regasifier unit 20 can be increased with a similar warming duty.
According to an embodiment the cooling stream 11 is generated as a side-stream of the re-gas stream 10 at the intermediate pressure and the warmed cooling stream 14 is recombined with a remainder of the re-gas stream 10 at the intermediate pressure, thus upstream of the regasifier unit.
The flow rate of the cooling stream 11 may, among other factors, depend on the flow rate of the feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG, the temperature and pressure of the feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG, the efficiency of the cooling of the feed stream 40 against the cooling stream 11 etc. The mass flow rate of the cooling stream 11 may be at least at 10% of the mass flow rate of the re-gas stream 10, at least 25% of the mass flow rate of the re-gas stream, at least 50% or at least 75% of the mass flow rate of the re-gas stream. According to an embodiment, the cooling stream 11 has a mass flow rate of more than 95% of the mass flow rate of the re- gas stream or even 100% of the mass flow rate of the re-gas stream. The method may comprise controlling the mass flow rate of the cooling stream in response to one or more of these factors .
The mass flow rate can be expressed as kg/s .
According to an embodiment the method comprises
re-combining the warmed cooling stream 14 with the remainder of the re-gas stream 10' .
The expanded cooled feed stream 43' may be directly passed to the at least one of the LNG storage tanks 1 as shown in Fig. 1. The term directly is used here to indicate that no further substantial processing steps are performed in between, such as separation steps, pressure changing steps or temperature changing steps .
Fig. 1 further shows a boil-off gas stream 70 that is obtained from the at least one of the LNG storage tanks 1. Further comprised is a first boil-off gas compressor 71, arranged to receive the boil-off gas stream 70 and pressurize the boil-off gas stream to obtain a pressurized boil-off gas stream 72 at said intermediate pressure. The pressurized boil-off gas stream 72 may be (partially) passed to the recondenser 16 as vapour recondenser feed stream as described above. The pressurized boil-off gas stream 72 may be
(partially) passed to a second boil-off gas compressor 75 to obtain a further pressurized boil-off gas stream 73 at a pressure at least being equal to the third pressure.
Preferably, the entire preessurized boil-off gas stream 72 is either passed to the recondenser 16 or to the second boil-off gas compressor 75. According to an embodiment the method comprises
- executing b) - f) when a feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG is available and
- interrupting b) - f) when no a feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG is available.
B)-f) can be executed when a supply of pressurized LNG at a second pressure is available and interrupted when no supply of pressurized LNG at a second pressure is available. If no supply of pressurized LNG is available, the re-gas stream 10 is passed to the regasifier unit 20.
The feed stream 40 of pressurized LNG at a second pressure may be received from a carrier vessel 60. B) - f) are only executed when a loaded carrier vessel is present and connected to the regasification terminal. In case the carrier vessel is not connected, does not comprise any pressurized LNG at the second pressure or no carrier vessel is present, b) - f) are interrupted.
When steps b) - f) are interrupted, the regasification terminal is operated by executing a) and, instead of f) executing f' ) , with
f' ) passing the re-gas stream (10') to a regasifier unit (20) .
According to an embodiment a) comprises controlling a flow rate of the re-gas stream 10 by
- setting the flow rate of the re-gas stream 10 at a first flow rate level when b) - f) are executed and
- setting the flow rate of the re-gas stream 10 at a second flow rate level when b) - f) are interrupted, the first flow rate level being higher than the second flow rate level.
So, when a feed stream of pressurized LNG at a second pressure is being received, the amount of LNG being
regasified can be increased, as part of the warming duty is obtained from the pressurized LNG. According to an embodiment the method comprises
controlling a warming duty of the regasifier unit by
- setting the warming duty of the regasifier unit at a first level when b) - f) are executed and
- setting the warming duty of the regasifier unit at a second level when b) - f) are interrupted, the second level being lower than the first level.
The warming duty can for instance be controlled by controlling a flow rate of the ambient stream 22 in the regasifier heat exchanger 21.
When a feed stream of pressurized LNG at a second pressure is being received, the regasifier unit can be operated more efficiently and the warming duty can be lowered, as part of the warming duty is obtained from the pressurized LNG.
The person skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be carried out in many various ways without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. Method of operating a regasification terminal, the method comprising :
a) obtaining a re-gas stream (10) of LNG from one or more LNG storage tanks (1), the one or more storage tanks (1) being at a first pressure in the range of 0.8 - 1.5 bara, the re-gas stream (10) being at an intermediate pressure in the range of 8 - 16 bara,
b) splitting the re-gas stream (10) in a cooling stream (11) and a remainder of the re-gas stream (10' ),
c) receiving a feed stream (40) of pressurized LNG at a second pressure, the second pressure being above 2 bara, dl) cooling the feed stream (40) against the cooling stream (11) thereby obtaining a cooled feed stream (43) and a warmed cooling stream (14), and
d2) expanding the cooled feed stream (43) to the first pressure thereby obtaining an expanded cooled feed stream (43' ) ,
e) passing the expanded cooled feed stream (43') to at least one of the LNG storage tanks (1) and
f) passing at least the remainder of the re-gas stream (10') to a regasifier unit (20) .
2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the second pressure is above 3 bara, preferably above 5 bara, and more preferably above 12 bara.
3. Method according to any one of the preceeding claims, wherein the at least one LNG storage tank comprises an LNG inlet (42), and d2 ) is performed using a valve or expander (41) positioned close to the associated LNG inlet (42), preferably at a distance less than 50 meters away from the associated LNG inlet (42) .
4. Method according to any one of the preceeding claims, wherein the at least one LNG storage tank comprises an LNG inlet (42), and d2 ) is performed using a valve or expander positioned at a level at or above the associated LNG inlet (42), preferably at the tank top platform of the associated LNG inlet (42) .
5. Method according to any one of the preceeding claims, wherein the method further comprises
- combining the warmed cooling stream (14) with the remainder of the re-gas stream thereby obtaining a combined stream (10'') and passing the combined stream (10'') to the regasifier unit (20) or
- passing the warmed cooling stream (14) and the remainder of the re-gas stream to the regasifier unit (20) as separate parallel streams to be regasified separately.
6. Method according to any one of the preceeding claims, wherein the method further comprises obtaining a boil-off gas stream (70) from at least one of the LNG storage tanks (1), pressurizing the boil-off gas stream (70) thereby obtaining a pressurized boil-off gas stream (72) at said intermediate pressure and passing at least part of the pressurized boil- gas stream (73) to a recondenser (16) to be recondensed and combined with the remainder of the re-gas stream (10' ) .
7. Method according to claim 6 comprising
- feeding a liquid recondenser feed stream to the
recondenser (16) comprising at least a portion (101) of the remainder of the re-gas stream (10' ) , - feeding a vapour recondenser feed stream to the
recondenser (16) comprising the at least part of the
pressurized boil-off gas stream (73),
- obtaining a recondensed stream (18) from the recondenser (16) comprising at least the liquid and vapour recondenser feed streams and
- passing the recondensed stream (18) to the regasifier unit (20) as part of the combined stream (10'') .
8. Method according to claim 5, wherein the method further comprises
f1) pressurizing the combined stream (10' ' ) to a third pressure to obtain a pressurized re-gas stream (13),
f2) warming the pressurized re-gas stream (13), for instance against an ambient stream (22), in a re-gasifier heat exchanger (21) thereby obtaining a regasified natural gas stream (30) .
9. Method according to any one of the preceeding claims, wherein the flow rate of the feed stream (40) of pressurized LNG at the second pressure is below 2000 m3/hour, such as below 1500 m3/h or below 1000 m3/h.
10. Method according to any one of the preceeding claims, wherein a mass flow of the cooling stream (11) is controlled in response to one or more of the following parameters: a mass flow of the feed stream (40), a temperature of the feed stream, a pressure of the feed stream, a temperature of the cooling stream, a pressure of the cooling stream, a
temperature of the cooled feed stream (43) and a temperature of the expanded cooled feed stream (43') .
11. Regasification terminal for regasifying LNG, comprising - one or more LNG storage tanks (1), the one or more storage tanks (1) being at a first pressure, the first pressure being in the range of 0.8 - 1.5 bara,
- a regasifier unit (20) comprising an inlet which is in fluid communication with the one or more LNG storage tanks to receive a re-gas stream (10) of LNG at an intermediate pressure in the range of 8 - 16 bara, and an outlet for discharging a regasified natural gas stream (30),
- a processing unit (5) comprising a heat exchanging unit (50) and an expansion device (41), wherein the heat
exchanging unit (50) comprises a pressurized LNG inlet (51) being in releasable fluid communication with one or more pressurized LNG storage tanks (61) for receiving a feed stream (40) of pressurized LNG at a second pressure, the second pressure above 2 bara, and a pressurized LNG outlet (52) for discharging a cooled feed stream (43), the
pressurized LNG outlet (52) being in fluid communication with an inlet of the expansion device (41) for passing the cooled feed stream (43) to the expansion device (41), the expansion device comprising an outlet being in fluid communication with the one or more LNG storage tanks (1) for discharging an expanded cooled feed stream (43' ) to the one or more LNG storage tanks (1),
wherein the heat exchanging unit (50) further comprises a cooling inlet (53) being in fluid communication with the re- gas stream (10) for receiving a cooling stream (11) at the intermediate pressure in the range of 8 - 16 bara to cool the feed stream (40), the cooling stream (11) comprising at least a portion of the re-gas stream (10) and the heat exchanging unit (50) further comprises a cooling outlet (54) for discharging a warmed cooling stream (14), the cooling outlet (54) being in fluid communication with the re-gas stream (10) at the intermediate pressure to recombine the warmed cooling stream (14) with a remainder of the re-gas stream.
12. Regasification terminal according to claim 11, wherein the feed stream (40) of pressurized LNG has a methane mole fraction greater than 0.5, preferably greater than 0.85.
EP17751112.8A 2016-08-23 2017-08-15 Regasification terminal and a method of operating such a regasification terminal Withdrawn EP3504473A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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PCT/EP2017/070678 WO2018036869A1 (en) 2016-08-23 2017-08-15 Regasification terminal and a method of operating such a regasification terminal

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KR20190040210A (en) 2019-04-17

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