In order to tap into Colombian stranded gas reserves, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corporation and EXMAR nv have partnered in a project to build and operate a floating LNG liquefaction, and storage unit, the Caribbean FLNG, which will be stationed at a jetty several kilometers off the Caribbean coast of Colombia for at least 15 years.
In order to protect the hull of the Caribbean FLNG, keep it clean and facilitate class inspections over that time period without recourse to drydock and without causing harm to the local marine environment, EXMAR has applied an innovative glassflake, non-toxic, longlasting hull coating system, Ecospeed, on the vessel’s hull. EXMAR is a pioneer in offshore processing and storage solutions and this unit, the first of its kind ever to be built, presages a breakthrough in stranded gas monetization for the offshore oil and gas industry which promises to have worldwide application.
LNG and stranded gas
For economic and environmental reasons, global demand for natural gas as an alternative source of energy to traditional fossil fuels such as oil and coal has surged in recent years. Natural gas burns cleaner and therefore is responsible for reduced noxious emissions. If it can be produced and transported efficiently, it has the potential to be cheaper than oil and coal.
However, vast natural gas supplies are often “stranded,” meaning that they are not or cannot be exploited for technical and logistical reasons. They are either too remote for economic transport or they are too hard to get at for economic production. Often this gas therefore remains unexploited and unutilized in its natural gas field, or is flared during oil production.
The total amount of stranded gas reserves worldwide is 6000 EJ (exajoules, unit of energy – 1 EJ = 1018 joules), or 140,000 megatoes (Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent). This stranded gas constitutes about half the global gas reserves, equal to sixty years of current gas usage. The geographical distribution of these reserves is shown in the graph on this page.
These huge quantities of stranded gas represent enormous potential revenues for their owners. However, monetization and profit depend entirely on efficient recovery and transport of the stranded gas reserves.
Northern Colombia gas exploitation project
La Creciente is a field in northern Colombia, owned and operated by Pacific Stratus Energy Colombia (PSE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific Rubiales Energy Corporation (PRE).
Natural gas will be supplied to the Caribbean FLNG from PSE’s La Creciente field to the Caribbean Coast near Tolú via an 88 km, 18” diameter pipeline which PSE is building as part of the project, with an initial design transportation capacity of 100 MMscf/d (million standard cubic feet per day). The La Creciente field has 6 tcf (trillion cubic feet) or 170 bcm (billion cubic meters) of gas reserves, and ongoing studies estimate a potential of 30-43 tcf (850 bcm- 1.2 tcm). The Caribbean FLNG will be moored in Morrosquillo Bay, about 4 km offshore at Tolú.
Frederik Van Nuffel, EXMAR Project Manager in charge of the design, engineering and construction of the unit explains: “On 5th November, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and Gazprom Marketing & Trade Limited announced the execution of a Heads of Agreement with respect to a five year Sale and Purchase Agreement covering approximately 0.5 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas commencing commercial operations in the second quarter of 2015. This LNG cargo will be produced in, and loaded from, EXMAR’s Caribbean FLNG barge.” The FLNG will stay permanently on site for at least 15 years without drydocking.
The cooperation between PRE/PSE and EXMAR will result in a potential export of 0.5 million tons of LNG per annum from Northern Colombia.
Construction of the special floating LNG production unit which will liquify, regasify and store the natural gas supplied by the La Creciente field is well under way.
EXMAR innovation and the Caribbean FLNG
EXMAR NV, headquartered in Antwerp, is a diversified and independent shipping group serving the international gas and oil industry. Apart from providing the ships for the transportation of these products, it also performs studies and undertakes the management of commercial, technical and administrative activities for the oil and gas industry. EXMAR has successfully pioneered innovative floating liquefaction and regasification solutions to help bring LNG to the marketplace in the fasttrack, cost-effective, flexible and reliable manner needed for success in this market. The company introduced LNG Regasification Vessels (LNGRVs) in 2005 and the Ship-to- Ship transfer technology in 2006. So it is not surprising that EXMAR is now involved in developing yet another first: the world’s first floating LNG liquefaction unit.
EXMAR CEO Nicolas Saverys explains, “We are proud to assist PRE in reducing the carbon footprint of Central America and the Caribbean. This will be the world’s first operational floating LNG production unit. We were the first to do re-gasification onboard a ship and the first to do ship-to-ship liquid transfer. Now we will be the first to do floating liquefaction of natural gas. The unique technology on board the unit is the result of EXMAR’s innovative leadership in the LNG industry during the past years. The energy markets are short of gas supplies and EXMAR’s floating LNG unit approach offers the opportunity to add stranded gas to these markets, and correct the current imbalance in trade in terms of both price and supply.“
Protecting the hull for 15 Years – ECOSPEED
A key requirement for the Caribbean FLNG is that it be able to stay moored at the jetty in Morrosquillo Bay for at least 15 years without the need to drydock. At the same time, the unit is being built and will be maintained in strict accordance with all the regulations of a major internationally recognized classification society. These regulations include 5-year class inspections.
The biggest barrier to this kind of extended drydocking interval is the protection of the hull which includes the prevention of corrosion and the ability to effectively deal with biofouling. Whether or not the vessel goes to drydock, periodic inspections by the classification society are required, in this case every five years.
EXMAR is trying various approaches to hull protection and maintenance, including traditional biocidal antifouling, foul-release coatings and cathodic protection on bare steel. As Frederik Van Nuffel explains, “With underwater coatings you don’t really see the benefits until after five or six years. The first year everything is good but it’s only after a few years that you start to feel the difference between a good coating and a bad coating.”
Based on prior experience and new research, EXMAR chose Ecospeed as the coating for the new Caribbean FLNG. Ecospeed is a hard, nontoxic, long-lasting glassflake reinforced coating ideally suited to this kind of application where long-term protection, the capability of being cleaned in situ underwater without any damage to the coating, and the fact of being environmentally benign with no emission of heavy metals or toxic substances during normal use or during cleaning are all of the greatest importance.
As long as it is standardly applied and correctly maintained, Ecospeed can be guaranteed for 15 years in this type of application. This puts it in a league of its own. There is no question about the glassflake coating’s ability to protect the hull for 15 years and much longer.
It remains to EXMAR and Hydrex to work out the optimum cleaning regimen for the ship. Probably one full cleaning per year will suffice. While it would be possible to clean the hull only once every five years prior to class inspection, the level of growth after that period of time will be very considerable and the time and cost required for cleaning would be significantly more than if the hull were cleaned annually and the fouling thus kept to a lower level of growth.
Source and Image Credit: Hydrex
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