Automation and safety systems for UK LNG projects
5 Dec 2006
Under the first contract, Honeywell has implemented its Experion Process Knowledge System and two integrated safety systems at Grain LNG’s importation terminal at the Isle of Grain. The automation supplier provided design, engineering and installation services directly to Grain LNG for the project, as well as ongoing customer support.
As part of a second contract, Honeywell will provide an integrated process control and safety system for an expansion project at Grain LNG’s importation terminal near London. The contract was awarded via contracting engineer, CB&I John Brown (London) Ltd.
For the initial project, Grain LNG required support from a leading vendor to help us meet a very demanding schedule, according to Paul Johnson, projects manager at Grain LNG.
“We also needed an automation partner that we could rely on for the next 30 years. Honeywell has proved it can ... meet our stringent standards for safety and performance,” Johnson stated in a Honeywell press release.
“LNG terminals are manned on a 24-hour basis by control room operators and it is imperative that Grain LNG has a robust process control and safety system,” added Paul Orzeske, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Process Solutions EMEA.
Grain started with an initial capacity to receive and process up to 3.3 million tonnes of LNG per annum, equivalent to 4.4 billion cubic metres of gas. The company is adding three more storage tanks to increase LNG throughput at the site to be increased by 6.5 million tonnes per annum, taking total capacity there to 9.8 million tpa.
Last year, National Grid announced plans to offer a further five million tonnes of long term LNG importation capacity per annum at its Isle of Grain terminal, which is located on the River Medway, close to London and the centre of UK gas demand.
Under National Grid’s open season process, all LNG shippers can bid for the right to berth LNG carriers and unload LNG into the facility for its temporary storage, prior to regasification and delivery of gas into the UK’s National Transmission System.
National Grid has carried out three open season processes at the Grain LNG terminal. BP/Sonatrach acquired the first phase of 3.3 million tonnes LNG per annum under a 20-year contract in October 2003; Sonatrach, Gaz de France and Centrica acquired the second phase of 6.5 million tonnes LNG per annum under 20-year contracts in March 2005.
An additional five million tonnes of LNG capacity per annum is scheduled to be available ahead of winter 2010/11, subject to market demand and permissions for further site development and regulatory consents.
