SLNG Performs 1st Small Scale LNG Reload

Singapore LNG Corporation (SLNG) has performed its first small scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) gas-up/cool-down and reload at its terminal on Jurong Island.

The operation was carried out from 18-20 June 2017 for the newly built, 6,500 cbm, Cardissa, an LNG bunker vessel owned by Shell and co-financed by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility that will serve customers in Northwest Europe.

The operation was conducted at the SLNG terminal’s secondary jetty, which is originally designed to accommodate LNG vessels from 60,000 cbm to 265,000 cbm capacity.

SLNG said that detailed compatibility studies were carried out in advance to ensure that the vessel could safely call at the jetty. Among other things, the compatibility studies involved checking whether the vessel’s equipment would be able to connect with the equipment at the jetty, and the marine conditions needed to ensure that the operations could be conducted smoothly. Prior to this, the smallest LNG carrier that had called at the SLNG terminal for unloading or reloading was about 65,000 cbm.

 “The successful completion of our first small scale LNG reload operation is significant as it demonstrates the SLNG terminal’s ability to play the role of LNG supply hub for the region,” John Ng, CEO of SLNG, said.

“The terminal is able to break LNG cargoes into smaller parcels and facilitate deliveries of small volumes of LNG to other terminals in the region, or as bunker fuel to ships in our port. We are already looking ahead to further enhance our capabilities in this area, by exploring possible modifications to our secondary jetty to accommodate LNG vessels as small as 2,000 cbm. This is expected to come onstream in 2019.”

SLNG and the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore launched the nation’s first LNG truck loading facility during a ceremony held on 12 April 2017, at the SLNG terminal. The single-bay facility is a step towards developing truck-to-ship LNG bunkering.