Air Products’ LNG technology selected for Nigeria LNG Train 7 project
Air Products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology and equipment provider, signed an agreement with SCD JV S.c.a.r.l, a joint venture of Saipem, Chiyoda and Daewoo, for the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) Train 7 project.
The project includes one complete LNG train and one combined liquefaction unit. Air Products will provide the main cryogenic heat exchangers (MCHEs) and the process technology for both liquefaction units. Air Products will supply this technology and proprietary processes to the JV for the production of eight million tons per annum of LNG in Nigeria for a major LNG production expansion at NLNG’s existing NLNG Bonny Island facility.
Air Products previously provided the MCHEs and process technology for the first six trains for NLNG at Bonny Island with initial onstream LNG production from the units beginning in 1999 for the first, to 2007 for the sixth. All six LNG trains continue production today.
“Air Products prides itself on product quality and excellent customer service. Our relationship with NLNG points just to that, as we have an established and thriving business relationship spanning over two decades. We are very proud that the original six heat exchangers we built continue operating and that the Train 7 expansion will utilize two additional Air Products’ heat exchangers with delivery targeted for 2023. Every customer is an important one, but returning customers tell you a lot about how you are operating as a business, and how your technology is viewed by the marketplace,” said Samir J. Serhan, Chief Operating Officer at Air Products.
Air Products will build the LNG heat exchangers at its Port Manatee, Florida manufacturing facility. Air Products opened its Port Manatee facility in January 2014 and completed a 60% expansion in October 2019 to meet the needs of the ever-growing LNG industry. In October 2018, Air Products dedicated a new LNG equipment test facility (ETF), which will enable Air Products to improve the reliability and yield produced from its LNG equipment and to design new equipment.
Air Products’ proprietary LNG technology, vital to helping meet the world’s increasing energy needs and desire for clean energy, processes and cryogenically liquefies valuable natural gas for consumer and industrial use. For over 50 years Air Products has manufactured LNG heat exchangers, which currently operate in over 100 LNG trains in 20 countries around the world. An LNG heat exchanger can be as large as over 15 feet (5 meters) in diameter and 180 feet (55 meters) long. A finished unit can weigh as much as 500 tons.
Air Products’ LNG process technology and equipment is the heart of an LNG production plant. The technology, in place at some of the most remote locations around the world, takes natural gas and unlocks its value by liquefying it and making it possible to economically ship it. The LNG is eventually re-gasified for energy uses.
The majority of total worldwide LNG is produced with Air Products’ technology. In support of the LNG industry, Air Products provides process technology and key equipment for the natural gas liquefaction process for large export plants, small and mid-sized LNG plants, floating LNG plants and LNG peak shavers. Upstream, Air Products provides both nitrogen and natural gas dehydration membrane systems for offshore platforms. Downstream, Air Products provides membrane nitrogen generators for LNG carriers, and land-based membrane and cryogenic nitrogen systems for LNG import terminals and baseload LNG plants.
