Maritime Reporter, June, 1977

<BODY> <div> LNG-5 (continued from page 13) ence was gathered in a small ex- perimental cavity in 1974. The results of the investigation jus- tify the further prosecution of the work. 9. "Tests at the Fos Terminal on the LNG Behaviour in the Big Tanks," by F. Bellus, M.Y. Rev- eillard, M.C. Bonnaure, and M.L. Chevalier, Gaz de France, France. After the Fos Terminal had been in operation for a number of years, it was seen that its stor- age capacity of 70,000 cubic me- ters was inadequate as a buffer for the irregular arrival of ves- sels. In 1975, the decision was taken to extend this capacity by the addition of a further 80,000- cubic-meter reservoir. This con- sists of an outer shell of 90 cm prestressed concrete and an inner 9 percent Ni-steel tank with a sus- pended cover. Submerged pumps are being installed. This type of reservoir, until now not seen in France and therefore unique, will be environmentally extremely compatible and safe. 10. "Ultra Low Temperature LNG Compressors," by D. Kato, Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy In- dustries Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. In 1969, the first compressor for handling natural gas at — 160°C went on stream. As a result of further improvements, these ma- chines serve for the direct com- pression of boil-off gas from stor- age reservoirs or ships' tanks without the need to warm it be- forehand. Thanks to this process, the reliquefaction of boil-off gas can be accomplished with a min- imum of outlay and space require- ments. 11. "Electricity Generation by Utilisation of LNG Cold," by M. Streich, A. Pocrna, D. Weber and G. Krey, Linde AG, Munich. In the past, major interest was centered on the utilization of cold produced by LNG for refrigera- tion or cryogenic processes. The main difficulties involved in this direct application of cold lie in the combining of various process plant and in the excessive amount of cold available. Two new sug- gestions for the conversion of LNG cold into electric power push these disadvantages into the back- ground. One process merely uti- lizes heat from the surroundings. The other is a closed gas turbine circuit with the unique feature that more than 1 kWh electrical energy can be generated from 1 kWh of cold energy. 12. "Nitrogen Gas Turbines for LNG Regasification," by H. Hasel- bacher, BBC, Baden, Switzerland. Regasification by way of a closed gas turbine process is par- ticularly economical and ecologi- cally compatible. The development of a nitrogen gas turbine with a capacity of 200 tons/h LNG is described. The turbine's electrical output is 44 Mw, and the attend- ant thermal efficiency is in excess of 44 percent. Particularly re- markable is the low entry tem- perature of the gas ( —129°C) into the compressor. Workshop Sessions. "The Fu- ture Role of LNG in Energy Sup- ply." "The Future of LNG Trans- port." Wednesday, August 31, 1977 Session III: Financing, Legal and Policy Aspects of LNG Trade. Session chairmen: W.E. Mat- thews, U.S.A.; H. Tahmassebi, Iran; W.J. Walters, Great Britain, and R. Francoeur, Canada. 1. "The Legal Problems of Long Term LNG Contracts," by J.M. Soesan, Great Britain. Due to the vast financial in- volvement demanded by an LNG project, the contracts that have to be entered into in order to see such projects through to the end involve duration periods gener- ally in the order of 15 to 20 years. In this context, the contributor of this paper examines, among other things, the matter of "unpredict- ability," framed in the legal sys- tems of several countries. 2. "On Some Legal Aspects of an LNG Terminal Establishment and Operation in France," by F. Marie, Gaz de France, Paris. The legal problems associated with the acquisition of the site, the design, the operational plan and the cooperation between con- tractors and operators with the responsible authorities under French law are explained. A fur- ther chapter deals with legal problems during operation, as for example the regulations for traf- fic with LNG tankers, in addition to other matters. 3. "Ownership Transfer of LNG Plants," by N.N., Sonatrach, Al- geria. Two major aspects are con- cerned in the transfer of owner- ship of LNG Plants, one being juristic and the other technical. While the latter is essentially con- cerned with factual problems, the former involves matters of legal concepts and philosophies. In many of the isolated prob- lems that emerge, the classic conception of property transfer becomes subject to query. One fac- tor involved is that an extremely complicated plant is concerned, with appropriately complex oper- ational conditions. This is impor- tant, since it is often a matter of transferring plant which was de- signed and constructed in a highly developed industrial country into the hands of a country with a limited technical potential. The real meaning of the term "owner- ship transfer" under such circum- stances, and the way in which the attendant contractual terms need to be adapted to such conditions, is discussed on a basis of Algerian experience. 4. "Hazard Assessment of LNG Supply and Storage," by G. Snel- link, TNO, Netherlands. This study deals with the risks concerned with the supply and storage of LNG under the condi- tions prevailing in the region of the Maas estuary on the Dutch coast. The consequences of a ship- ping collision involving an LNG tanker of 125,000 cubic meter ca- pacity, the consequences of such a vessel running aground, the consequences of a major accident during unloading and the conse- quences of the destruction of a storage reservoir are all gone into. At the same time, the probability that such a calamity might occur is assessed. The study is intended to give the authorities guidelines concerning the problems involved in the introduction of this new form of energy. 5. "Controlling the Hazards of LNG Ground Spillages — LNG Firefighting Methods — Applica- tion to the Gaz de France LNG Terminals," by F. Bellus, H. Con- chard, J. Mauger and R. Vincent, Gaz de France, France. The fundamental precautionary measures required in the con- struction and design of LNG plant are set forth on a basis of the mathematical model devel- oped by Gaz de France for the calculation of the diffusion of LNG clouds caused by LNG ground spillages. Furthermore, a method has been developed for assessing the amount of water required to be sprayed on LNG reservoir walls to protect them from radiant heat from nearby fires. The results of extinguishing LNG fires with high expansion foam are reported on. 6. "Safety and Reliability of Floating LNG Production Facil- ities," by H.R. Hansen, K.R. Au- then and others, Norske Veritas, Norway. Norske Veritas has worked out guidelines covering the safety as- pects of planned offshore floating LNG production and storage fa- cilities. As a result, a set of bind- ing rules for the approval of such installations has emerged. In these, safety measures called for against calamities, for technical installations, staff and environ- ment, are within acceptable lim- its and such plant will be ade- quately reliable in operation. The report covers recommendations and regulations for the design, construction, installation and op- eration of LNG plants. 7. "Financing Aspects of LNG Trade," by A.R. Batkin, Lehman Brothers Inc., New York, U.S.A. The financing of LNG chain operations is bound up with grave difficulties because of the enor- mous investments needed, differ- ing legalistics, financing in vari- ous countries and the need to finance widely varying links in the chain. The report describes both the classical financing techniques and new possibilities for financ- ing, such as leasing and advance payment models. The report also analyzes the various potential sources of money for direct fi- nancing and borrowing (banks, in- surance companies, pension funds, mortgage financing) and illus- trates the alternative modes of financing under the aspects of taxation, trading and legal effects. 8. "The Contribution of the Export-Import Bank of Japan to Japanese LNG Projects," by S. Hirakawa, Tokyo University, and T. Kurihara, Export-Import Bank of Japan, Tokyo, Japan. The Export-Import Bank of Japan is being a great help in the setting up of Japanese LNG proj- ects. The authors discuss the aims of this newly founded bank, its business pursuits, and draw particular attention to the link between LNG projects and the bank's activities. In addition, the attitude of the bank in assessing the prospective gas reserves and production potential from the viewpoint of financing is made clear. To round off, the bank's future policy in terms of financ- ing further LNG projects is dis- cussed. 9. "Project Financing of LNG Trade," by S.J. Lewand and G.L. Meyer, Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, U.S.A. The inherent technical and eco- nomic structure of the extremely costly LNG projects makes an accurate calculation of the risks involved by those providing cap- ital and the investors necessary. In the report, financing at excep- tionally high levels is discussed. Such financing not only has a powerful influence on the inter- national finance market, but also on the economic resources of both producer and consumer countries. 10. "Financing of LNG Produc- tion Facilities and Tankers," by N.N., Sonatrach, Algeria. After summarizing the individ- ual links of which an LNG chain is composed, the means of financ- ing and the type of financing called for in each single link in the chain is investigated. From this emerge possibilities for fill- ing gaps in the Euro-dollar mar- ket and the plant-producing coun- tries. These questions are dealt with in respect of each of the processing steps in detail. Tanker construction financing can mostly be supported by state subsidies to the shipyards. 11. "Densities of LNG for Cus- tody Transfer," W.M. Haynes and R.D. McCarty, National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. Precise knowledge of LNG den- sity in relation to composition and temperature is necessary in order to calculate and invoice the quan- tities of LNG delivered. Experi- mental investigations at the Na- tional Bureau of Standards have resulted in systems with error quotients of less than 0.1 percent. The equipment needed, as well as the data collected and the experi- mental procedure are described. With these methods, the LNG (continued on page 15) 14 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News </div> <span id="lblContents"></span> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.digitalwavepublishing.com/" title="Digital Magazine">Digital Wave Publishing</a> </BODY>