BE Magazine - Volume 6, Issue 1 - (Page 34)

Best Practices – Oil and Gas Terminal Pumps Natural Gas Through Longest Subsea Pipeline Engineers in northernmost terminal overcome Arctic conditions and a short construction season lthough 3,000 workers endured four years living under extreme Arctic conditions on the Island of Melkoya, Norway, to develop the ﬁrst off-shore natural gas production facility in the Barents Sea, there is no visible surface evidence of their labor. Located 140 kilometers north of Hammerfest, the world’s northernmost city, the $7.5 billion project is a remotely operated seabed installation with a subsea pipeline carrying natural gas to the Snohvit liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal. The Snohvit project includes three ﬁelds—Snohvit, Albatross, and Askeladd—in the Hammerfest Basin of the Barents Sea. First discovered in 1984, Snohvit’s recoverable reserves are now estimated at 193 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 113 million barrels of condensate, and 5.1 million tons of natural gas liquids. New developments in subsea gas extraction and gas liquiﬁcation technology have enabled the three gas ﬁelds to be developed by a consortium of companies, including A Statoil as the primary owner-operator with a 34 percent interest in the project. The Norwegian government approved development of the Snohvit ﬁelds in 2002 and construction began in 2003. The Snohvit production facilities are located on the seabed in water depths of 250 to 345 meters. A 143-kilometer subsea pipeline transports the well ﬂow to the LNG terminal on Melkoya where it is separated into natural gas and condensate. The CO2 that makes up about 5 to 8 percent of the unprocessed gas is also separated out and returned to the ﬁeld via another pipeline for reinjection. This prevents excess CO2 emissions and enables Norway to adhere to the Kyoto treaty. At the liquiﬁcation plant, which was built on a prefabricated gas liquiﬁcation barge to reduce the need for costly steelwork on the island, advanced refrigeration technology cools the natural gas to a temperature of -163 degrees Celsius. This causes the gas to liquefy and shrink in volume by a factor of 600. Statoil reports that 12 doctoral studies contributed to the refrigeration process developed to liquefy natural gas at extreme temperatures. Operating in the cold Arctic climate boosts the plant’s energy efﬁciency, making it one of the most efﬁcient in the world. In liquid form, the natural gas can be stored at the terminal before being transferred to specially designed LNG tankers for shipment to stocking terminals in Europe and the United States. The LNG is then regasiﬁed for delivery through the natural gas transportation and distribution network. SUEZ Tractebel Engineering (Brussels, Belgium), an engineering services provider for the energy sector and a leading designer of LNG terminals, designed the pipeline and four storage tanks: two 125,000-cubic-meter tanks for LNG, one 75,000-cubic-meter tank for condensate (light oil), and one 45,000-cubic-meter tank for liqueﬁed petroleum gas. The ﬁrm also designed the jetty where the tankers load the LNG. 34 Be Magazine | Volume 6 Issue 1

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of BE Magazine - Volume 6, Issue 1

BE Magazine - Volume 6, Issue 1 Contents Anticipation’s Name Is V8i Be Awards of Excellence Kicks Off Competition Bentley Launches the Most Comprehensive SoftwarePortfolio for Infrastructure Ever Assembled in a Single Release MicroStation V8i Up Close & Personal Is Water the New Oil? How Does Intent Become Reality? Does Performance Create Sustainability? Renewing Confidence in Public Highway Infrastructure Enterprisewide System Manages International Airport Standardized CAD/GIS Platform Streamlines Infrastructure Engineering 3D Modeling Refines Reusable Design for Plant Prototype Lean Teams Deliver Automotive Assembly Plants Through Innovative Use of BIM Integrated 3DModels Enable Compact and Safe Plant Design Sustainable Development Supports Thriving Community Terminal Pumps Natural Gas Through Longest Subsea Pipeline Large UtilityWorks To Reduce SO2 Emissions Aging Power Station Boosts Engineering Productivity Hydropower Dam To Fuel Growing Economy Collaboration Tools Accelerate Chinese Railway Electrification System Design Rapid Rail Link To Meet Socio-Economic Development Goals High-CapacityWastewater Treatment Facility ReclaimsWater Resources City ExpandsWater SupplyWithout Deploying AdditionalWater Resources Private Calling Meets Public Service Learning Paths Map Skill Development for Infrastructure Professionals A Contemporary Approach to Site Design The Art of Visualization Special Feature: Be Communities Physical + Digital Investments = Intelligent Infrastructure

BE Magazine - Volume 6, Issue 1

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