Siemens in Malaysia LNG Win

Siemens Energy said it has been awarded a contract for supplying turbo compressors and mechanical drive gas turbines for a major Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Malaysia. The project will help to improve overall plant efficiency and minimize gas flaring at the Petronas Bintulu LNG Plant in Sarawak, East Malaysia.

“This order represents a major milestone for Siemens and the LNG industry,” says Adil Toubia, CEO of the Oil & Gas Division at Siemens Energy. “Instead of being flared, the boil-off gas will be reliquefied, converted into LNG and routed back to the LNG storage tanks. The project benefits are immense since it will not only increase the LNG production rate and improve plant efficiency but also significantly minimize greenhouse gas emissions“.

The LNG project in Sawarak is implemented by MLNG (Malaysia LNG), a subsidiary of Petronas. Engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPC) is contracted to Munich-based LINDE Engineering. These companies are thus pioneering world-scale Boil-Off Gas reliquification within LNG plants and are implementing technology from Siemens to improve efficiency and help to reach international emission standards.

“We will continue to implement innovative solutions and high-end technology to create value along the LNG chain,” said Adil Toubia. “This order again also consolidates Siemens’ technology and market leadership in cryogenic temperature Boil-Off Gas compressors services, our strong presence for mid-size liquefaction and our flexibility to provide intelligent solutions for new markets as well”.

The scope of supply covers the engineering, manufacturing and testing of one tandem-casing, cryogenic-temperature BOG turbo compressor and one single-casing LNG-refrigerant turbo compressor. Both compressors will be direct-driven by Sie-mens SGT-700 mechanical drive gas turbines. Project completion is expected in April 2014, the plant will start operation in October 2014.

LNG is a dynamic industry with demanding requirements such as process flexibility, energy efficiency or minimum installation space. The compressor is equipped with Variable Inlet Guide Vane (IGV) control technology which provides maximum flexibility in order to handle the BOG volume flow fluctuation range. Load balancing between BOG compressor and LNG Mixed Refrigerant compressor allows for utilizing identical mechanical drive gas turbines. The SGT-700 handles high nitrogen content as it burns natural gas with up to 40 percent N2 (nitrogen) content. Furthermore, the Siemens solution reduces the installation space of the rotating equipment significantly.

The Bintulu LNG complex is one of the world’s largest LNG facilities. The Petronas LNG Plant consists of three plants, with a combined capacity of 24 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

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LNG World News Staff, February 21, 2013; Image: Petronas