The US based VGS Group Inc. are the developers and operators of an upcoming offshore floating import LNG terminal in the Bay of Bengal, near Kakinada, India. The terminal is purposed for the handling, storing and re-gasifying of large volumes of LNG. Moffatt & Nichol is assisting with the development of the terminal, recently completing a feasibility study report for the project.
This included leading a collaborative design effort with a number of the marine energy industry’s top tier consultants, infrastructure and equipment providers, including Wison Offshore & Marine Ltd., Hamworthy Wärtsilä, MEI, COMACOE and L&T Ramboll Consulting Engineers Limited.
A rapidly growing energy gap is forcing India to confront the reality that its healthy growth rate is put in jeopardy by a shortfall in the fuel feed stocks. The deficit in natural gas is felt across a wide economic range, with the impact ranging from power and industrial sectors to the hyper-critical fertilizer industry. With no existing LNG import facility and dwindling domestic production, India’s east coast power stations have been particularly hard hit. Aggregated to a total of 7,000 MW, these marginalized generators have a yearly natural gas gap of 7 mtpa to close, with no domestic supply lined up for the foreseeable future.
At a recent European press briefing, VGS President Gaurav Tiwari told reporters, “Besides having the First Mover advantage for LNG importation on India’s east coast, VGS Group with the assistance and great work of Moffatt & Nichol and others, has brought a game changing project to the LNG scene. Our innovation is that we’ve taken proven technologies and assembled them in a unique configuration that allows for the terminal’s capacity to be rapidly and economically scaled up from 4.0 mtpa to over 8.0 mtpa in one or more stages.”
Robust Offshore Platform
The terminal will consist of three fixed marine structures plus mooring and breasting dolphins, walkways and pipeline trestles in a water depth of approximately 20 meters. A natural gas submarine pipeline will transfer the product from the terminal to shore. The terminal will support two semi-permanently moored vessels and one calling LNG carrier for delivery of LNG. The three floating vessels at the terminal will be the LNG Carrier (LNGC); a Floating Storage Unit (FSU) vessel, which is a carrier-type vessel semi-permanently moored to the terminal; and the Floating Re-gasification Unit (FRU), which is a barge semi-permanently moored to the terminal. In the event of a major storm/cyclone, all three of the vessels will depart the terminal. Fixed structures will also be designed for the most severe metocean conditions. The LNGC and FSU will be able to leave the terminal under their own power prior to extreme metocean conditions, and the FRU can be towed to safe harbor until the storm is over.
The project is composed of two development phases. The initial phase has an FSU with a storage capacity of 174,000 m3 and the second phase of 266,000 m3. The LNGC will have an initial capacity ranging from 75,000 m3 to 155,000 m3. The FRU, with approximate dimensions of 100 x 47 m, will process LNG into natural gas at an operating capacity ranging from 500 MMscfd to a peak of 1,000 MMscfd in Phase 1.
Moffatt & Nichol: LNG Infrastructure Leader
With the feasibility study report completed by Moffatt & Nichol, the terminal design path is well-established. The comprehensive report included an analysis of the marine structures and submarine pipeline proposed along with the opinion of probable cost. Moffatt & Nichol has become an industry-leader addressing the specific offshore and near-shore marine terminal needs of the oil and natural gas industry—from piers and wharves to deep foundations, offshore floating facilities, liquid bulk and LNG terminals and offshore mooring systems. The firm has been involved in 80 percent of the terminals in North America and is actively involved in many internationally.