Spain: Saggas Puts Fourth LNG Tank into Commercial Operation

Saggas has met the established timescales for putting its fourth liquid natural gas (LNG) storage tank into commercial operation.

Doing so is the final stage in the successful construction of its new tank, work on which began in 2009 and, with it, the plant’s current storage capacity increases by 33% (up to 600,000 m³ of LNG). With its currently installed regasification capacity, some 1,000,000 m³m/h, Saggas can meet up to 25% of Spain’s demand for natural gas.

Since its entry into commercial operation in April 2006, Saggas has extended its facilities, adding two new tanks and a fifth sea water vaporiser. These new installations have doubled the plant’s starting storage capacity and increased its regasification capacity by 33%. Overall investment, including the initial plant and the various additions, stands at a total of 535 million Euros. Furthermore, the energy facility has made modifications to its unloading bay to accommodate the docking requirements of the largest methane tankers in the world, known as Q-Fex and Q-Max, which have already pulled in at Sagunto port.

Construction of the fourth tank

The temporary business partnership made up of Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios, S.A.; Sener Ingeniería y Sistemas, S.A.; Toyo Kanetsu K.K.; and Dywidag International GMBH won the extension contract, which was awarded as a turnkey project. The new tank was connected up to the energy facility this October for the testing phase, prior to its subsequent connection to the Spanish national gas system.

The tank was made using cement with specific properties mixed at plants established at the site of the energy facility itself. Approximately 724,000 hours of work,16,100 m³of reinforced concrete, 3,100 tonnes of conventional structures, 900 tonnes of cryogenic structures and 2,000 tonnes of 9% nickel steel were used for the construction of this fourth tank.

Sagunto: one of the main points of entry for natural gas into Spain

Located on 22 hectaresof land reclaimed from the sea through the expansion of Sagunto port, Saggas has enabled the Valencian Community to become an exporter of natural gas and has reinforced the security of the national gas system by diversifying the points of entry of this energy source into Spain. Sagunto is one of the main points of entry for gas on mainland Spain, thanks to its strategic location along the Mediterranean Basin, close to the producer countries in Africa and the Middle East.

The origin of the LNG unloaded in Sagunto is diverse, coming from as many as 12 different countries. For the most part, Egypt, Algeria and Qatar, though also, to a lesser extent, from Oman, Libya, Trinidad and Tobago, Norway and Yemen, among others. Since its entry into operation, Saggas has been one of the regasification plants with the greatest level of use relative to its installed capacity.

From 1^st January to 30^th October 2011 Saggas has received 57 methane tankers, which have unloaded a total of 2,426,450 tonnes of LNG. This translates into a volume of5,463,962 m³.The plant’s output reached 35,791 GWh in this same period.

Saggas, made up of Unión Fenosa Gas, RREEF Alternative Investments, Osaka Gas UK and Oman Oil Holdings Spain, has achieved ISO certifications in quality and environmental management (ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, respectively) and OHSAS 18001 certification for its health and safety management. In 2009 Saggas was the first regasification plant in Spain to obtain the European Union’s EMAS environmental certification.

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LNG World News Staff, December 14, 2011