Cadena de suministro lng

Liquefied Natural Gas Chain (LNG)
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) currently represents the most exciting aspect of the international gas landscape. Though the overall percentage of gas transported as LNG is less than 10% of global gas trade, it is growing rapidly, involving an increasing number of buyers and sellers. The past two decades have seen phenomenal growth in the LNG trade—growth that isexpected to continue unabated this decade.
LNG is simply an alternative method to transport methane from the producer to the consumer. Methane (C1H4) gas is cooled to –161.5° C (–260° F), converting its gaseous phase into an easily transportable liquid whose volume is approximately 600 times less than the equivalent volume of methane gas. (The exact shrinkage is closer to 610 times, but 600 iscommonly quoted.) Thus 600 ft3 of methane gas will shrink to a volume of around 1 ft3 of clear and odorless LNG. It is usually stored and moved at cold temperatures and at low pressure.
Gas converted to LNG can be transported by ship over long distances where pipelines are neither economic nor feasible. At the receiving location, liquid methane is offloaded from the ship and heated, allowing itsphysical phase to return from liquid to gas. This gas is then transported to gas consumers by pipeline in the same manner as natural gas produced from a local gas field.
The LNG process is more complex than pipeline transportation. The “LNG chain,” shown below, consists of discrete sections: upstream, midstream liquefaction plant, shipping, regasification, and finally, gas distribution

[pic]LNG technology is not new. The first commercial LNG facility was built in the United States in 1941 in Cleveland as a peak load shaving facility. Gas (delivered via pipeline to the plant) was liquefied during hours or seasons of low demand and heated back to gaseous phase to be pumped into the pipeline grid during periods of high demand. Unfortunately, this plant was closed in 1944 due to a gasleak and subsequent explosion.
The decision to commercialize a gas field by either LNG or direct pipeline is related to the distance to market from the gas reservoir. A rule of thumb commonly followed states

that LNG could be a viable option versus pipeline transport when the following characteristics are present:
The gas market is more than 2,000 km from the field.
The gas field contains atleast 3 tcf to 5 tcf of recoverable gas
Gas production costs are less than $1/MMBtu, delivered to the liquefaction plant.
The gas contains minimal other impurities, such as CO2 or sulfur.
A marine port where a liquefaction plant could be built is relatively close to the field.
The political situation in the country supports large-scale, long-term investments.
The market price in the importingcountry is sufficiently high to support the entire chain and provide a competitive return to the gas exporting company and host country.
A pipeline alternative would require crossing uninvolved third-party countries and the buyer is concerned about security of supply.
Units used in the LNG trade can be confusing. Produced gas is measured in volume (cubic meters or cubic feet), but once it isconverted into LNG, it is measured in mass units, usually tons or million tons. (This is abbreviated as MMT or, more commonly, MT. Million tons should technically be abbreviated MMT; however, the LNG industry uses MT to represent million tons.) LNG ship sizes are specified in cargo volume (typically, thousands of cubic meters), and once the LNG has been reconverted to gas, it is sold by energy units(in millions of British thermal units, MMBtu).
One ton of LNG contains the energy equivalent of 48,700 ft3 (1,380 m3) of natural gas. An LNG facility producing 1 million tons per year (million tons per annum, or MTA) of LNG requires 48.7 bcf (1.38 bcm) of natural gas per year, equivalent to 133 MMcfd. This facility would require recoverable reserves of approximately 1 tcf over a 20-year life....