Friday, November 7, 2008
Excelerate to Take Production Plunge
November 7, 2008
LNG Unlimited
Lucy Hine, London
Regas company unveils plans to build a floating LNG contender
Regasification specialist Excelerate Energy is running its slide rule over large-size floating liquefaction units as it plots a move into the upstream arena.
The company signed an agreement on Wednesday with its longstanding shipping ally Exmar and gas processing specialist Black & Veatch to pursue floating LNG.
The partners are targeting units with capacities ranging from the 1.5 million tonnes per annum to 3 million tpa.
Excelerate president and chief executive Rob Bryngelson said even a 4 million tpa vessel is "not out of range" for the partners, revealing the company has received expressions of interest for this size.
Bryngelson said the partners have already got a basic design for what they are calling a floating liquefaction storage and
offloading (FLSO) unit.
He said the design packages together proven technology but is also being developed in modular fashion to suit any given gas field.
Bryngelson said he and his colleagues at Excelerate have been working on floating liquefaction since around 2001 when they were with El Paso Corporation.
He said Excelerate, which is backed by its two key shareholders RWE Group and oil tycoon George Kaiser, will be the driving force behind the FLSO partnership and will retain commercial control.
The company has brought in Anthony Schiller as upstream development director. He joins from oil and gas magnate Tom Tatham’s LNG Partners, which is developing the Newfoundland LNG project.
Bryngelson said there are "a lot of discussions going on" with prospective clients, adding: "We are talking to people where the gas reserve makes sense."
He is adamant an FLSO will not be built on speculation. However, he said: "The first one will set the benchmark for how we are going to do it."
Bryngelson is also certain the FLSO will be more cost competitive than a like-size onshore liquefaction plant.
He said it will take around four years from pulling the trigger on a project to LNG production.
Exmar chief executive Nicolas Saverys said 2012 remains a realistic date for the first FLSO to be in operation.
Saverys said the partners' existing expertise on issues such as sloshing, product processing and discharge via ship-to-ship transfer will be key to the FLSO projects.
Bryngelson is clear about the motives for the move into the offshore liquefaction sector.
"We are not trying to be an asset player. We want to integrate further up the chain and gain access to the molecules," he said.
