Poster PO-06
A REVIEW OF THE LNG INDUSTRY IN CHINA
LA SITUATION ACTUELLE DU LNG EN CHINE
Anzhong Gu
Yumei Shi
Rongshun Wang
Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenic Engineering
School of Mechanical Engineering
Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200030, P.R.C
Tel.& Fax 86-21-62932602
anzgu@online.sh.cn
ABSTRACT
In the last decade, especially the recent years, China makes great progress in LNG
industry. There are already two LNG plants in China. One is the East Sea peakshaving
LNG plant in Shanghai and another is Zhongyuan LNG plant at Puyang of Henna
province. A larger LNG plant is been building in Xinjiang province. For importing LNG,
a LNG receiving terminal is been building at shenzhen of Guangdong province. The
second and the third LNG receiving terminal would be built in Fujian province an in the
Yangtze River delta area. The LNG tank with a size of 100m³, 300m³ and 30000m³ has
already been successfully made in China. The manufacturers in Sichun and Jiansu has
successfully produced LNG road tankers, which has already been put into production.
These manufactures have also planned to manufacture the LNG container. The Chinese
government has planned to build LNG carriers. In some cities of Shandong, Jiangsu,
Jiangxi, Henan, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, there are LNG satellite stations,
where the LNG is re-gasified and the natural gas is supplied to residents and industries by
pipeline. To improve the air quality, China are now developing LNG vehicles. There are
LNG vehicles in test running in both Shanghai and Beijing. The first LNG refueling
station has already been built in Beijing. In this paper, the technical data and flow
diagram about LNG plants, receiving terminal, tank trucks, satellite station and LNG
vehicle are introduced.
RESUME
La Chine compte une abondance de gaz naturel. Pour l’objet de modifier le structure
energique, ameliorer l’environnement naturel et developper l’economie dans l’Ouest du
pays, le gouvernement chinois prend une grande consideration dans l’exploitation et
l’application du gaz naturel. Depuis une dixaine d’annees, en particulier depuis ces
dernieres annees, nous avons fait de grands progres dans l’industrie du gaz naturel liquifie
(LNG). Actuellement, la Chine possede deux usines a gaz naturel liquifie: la station de
coordination des incidents de LNG a Shanghai et l’usine a gaz naturel liquifie de
Zhongyuan, dans le province du Henan. Une autre usine plus grande est en construction
dans le province du Xinjiang. Pour importer les gaz naturels liquifies de l’etranger, nous
sommes en train de construire une station de reception de gaz naturel liquifie a Shenzhen,
dans le province du Guangdong. Nous comptons faire construire une deuxieme dans le
province du Fujian. Nous avons construit des stations satellites de gaz naturel liquifie
dans les villes des provinces du Shandong, du Jiangsu, du Henan, du Zhejiang et du
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Guangdong. Et nous alimentons les habitants ainsi que les usines a travers les tuyaux le
gaz naturel liquifie apres la gazeification. Le projet de la construction des bateaux a gaz
naturel liquifie s’est mis a jour s par le gouvernement chinois. Apres la mise en fonction
des camions a gaz naturel liquifie, nous comptons fabriquer des conteneurs a gaz naturel
liquifie. En plus, la redaction des standards de gaz naturel liquifie se poursuit. On fait des
recherches basiques sur l’application de gaz naturel liquifie dans les etablissements
d’enseignements superieurs. Cet article nous presente les progres de recherches dans les
domaines suivants en Chine: les usines a gaz naturel liquifie, le recepteur final de gaz
naturel liquifie, les camions a gaz naturel liquifie et la station de gazeification des gaz
naturel liquifie.
INTRODUCTION
LNG chain is an enormous industry. It involves the rings of liquefaction, storage,
transmission and re-gasification. LNG chain is shown in Figure1. The detailed
introduction of LNG industry chain in China, including LNG plant, receiving terminal,
transmission and satellite station is as follows.
Figure 1 LNG industry chain
LNG INDUSTRY CHAIN
LNG Plant
Zhongyuan LNG Plant
In 2001, the successful startup of first small-scale LNG plant at Zhongyuan oil field
symbolizes the important progress of China LNG plant. The LNG produced is supplied to
Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and other provinces by LNG tank trucks. Figure 2
is the process of natural gas liquefying unit of Zhongyuan LNG Plant.
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Figure 2 The natural gas liquefying unit of Zhongyuan LNG Plant
Zhongyuan oil field is rich in natural gas resources, with a long-term reserve
estimation of 28×1010 m³ and a proved reserve of 947.57×108 m³.
Zhongyuan LNG plant has a production capacity of 15×104 Nm³/d. Its gas resource is
12 MPa, 30˚C, and with a methane mole percentage 93.35~95.83%.
Figure 3 is the process of natural gas liquefying unit. The pretreatment, liquefaction
and storage of the Zhongyuan LNG plant are briefly introduced as follows.
1―separator 2―filter 3―removing CO2 unit 4―removing water unit
5, 6―propane heat exchanger 7, 11, 14―throttle 8, 12, 15―NG separator
9―ethylene heat exchanger 10, 13―natural gas heat exchanger 16―LNG tank
Figure 3 The process of natural gas liquefying unit
Raw gas first loses its liquid contents at vapor-liquid separators, then has its large
particle removed at filters. The cleaned gas contains carbon dioxide and water vapor. The
CO2 and H2O in the natural gas are removed by ethanol amic (MEA) and zeolite
respectively. There are two driers at pretreatment unit, one in usage, another in
regeneration.
Natural gas purified is pre-cooled by the propane refrigeration cycle, then is throttled
and the temperature of the gas decreases, and is divided into liquid and gas stream. The
gas is cooled by the ethylene heat exchanger and natural gas heat exchanger, then
liquefied natural gas is throttled and the pressure decrease. The LNG is stored in a storage
tank at normal pressure.
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The unit fully utilizes the kinetic energy of high-pressure raw natural gas, and cold
energy of gas or liquid stream in throttling process is recovered. These methods help to
save the energy consumption. The highly-efficient plate-fin heat exchanger for this unit
contributes to the effect of heat transfer at heat exchangers.
The liquefied natural gas is stored at LNG tanks. Two LNG tanks are 1200m³ in
volume total. Each tank contains seven small tanks and one outer shell, and each has a
storage capacity of 87 m³. The insulating material is filled between the outer shell and
small tanks. Nitrogen is pressed into the insulation layer to prevent air and water
penetrating into.
The East Sea LNG Plant
Shanghai LNG Plant is the first peak-shaving LNG plant in China. Its full layout is
shown at Figure 4. The establishment of this plant substantially influences the
development of LNG industrial in China. It is the primary parts of the east sea natural gas
project which supports the downstream of gas network of Shanghai, and supplies natural
gas when the natural gas can’t be supplied to Shanghai from the east sea due to the reason
of typhoon, pipeline problem, or peak demand in winter and so on.
Figure 4 Full layout of East China Sea Peak shaving LNG Plant
The natural gas in 1.5 MPa from the main line is filtrated, gauged, and compressed to
5 MPa. The CO2 and H2S in the natural gas are removed by MEA, the H2O is removed by
zeolite, then the natural gas purified is liquefied and stored in a tank of 2×104m³.The
LNG re-gasified, odorized, regulated to the city gas network as demand. The evaporated
gas in the LNG tank streams into the main line after BOG (Boiling of Gas) treatment.
Main parameters of this plant are as follows:
(1) volume of tank, 2×104m³.
(2) daily evaporation rate of LNG tank, 0.08%/d.
(3) LNG production, 165m³/d.
(4) gasification capacity, 120m³/h in LNG.
The refrigeration cycle of the process is integral incorporated cascade cycle (CII) that
is designed by GAZ DE France.
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Figure 5 is the flow chart of CII cycle. The main equipments of this cycle are
compressors, fractionation unit and cold box. The cycle contains two parts: the natural
gas liquefaction unit and mixed refrigerant refrigeration units.
1―fractionation tower 2―cold box 3―low pressure compressor
4―high pressure compressor 5,6,7,8―liquid vapor separator
9,10,11―throttle 12, 13―cooler
Figure 5 CII cycle diagram
CII cycle is feathered to three points as follows: first, compact flow chart and using
less equipment; second, small size cold box and easy installation due to the choice of
high-efficient brazing aluminum plate-fin heat exchangers; third, simplification of
compressors and drivers engine which decreases the initial equipment investment and
maintenance cost.
Guanghui LNG Project of Xinjiang
Guanghui LNG Project of Xinjiang is a natural gas liquefying project, invested by
Guanghui Industry Cooperation.
Guanghui LNG Project I starts on September 2002, with an investment of 1.57 billion
RMB. The LNG product is transmitted to the consumers by road tankers, and supplies
natural gas to users which are not covered by the main gas network of “transferring west
gas to east”.
The perspective markets are as follows: (1) Southeast of Fujian province, the 14 cities
along the railway from Fuzhou to Xiamen. (2) Hubei, Hunan, and other provinces of east
China. (3) North China and Tianshan Economic Zone in Xinjiang.
The natural gas resource is from Tuha gas field. The output of Xinjiang LNG plants is
1.5×106 Nm³/d in natural gas.
The Guanghui LNG plants contains 5 units, such as purification unit, liquefying unit,
LNG storage tanks, LNG transportation unit and burning unit.
Figure 6 is the sketch of cold box and the mixed refrigerant cycle of liquefying unit
for the Xinjiang Guanghui LNG plant. The refrigerating cycle uses MRC cycle (mixed
refrigeration cycle).
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Figure 6- the sketch of the mixed refrigerant cycle
for the Xinjiang Guanghui LNG plant
The annual LNG output is about 4.56×105 t. A LNG tank of 3×104m³, which provides
a ten-day LNG storage, will soon be completed.
LNG Receiving Terminal
To meet the increasing energy demand of the Zhujiang delta area, China has decided
to import LNG to southeast China. The first LNG receiving terminal is building at
Chentou town, Dapen bay, Shenzhen city of Guangdong province.
The Guangdong LNG project consists of the LNG receiving terminal, the gas
pipeline, the power generation plant, and the city gas network. The gas supply covers 9
cities in the Zhujiang delta area and Hongkong.
The project is carried out with two phases.
Phase I includes the LNG receiving terminal and pipeline. The main line, which is
215.4 km, begins at Pingshan, goes through Dongguan and Guangzhou, and ends at
Foshan. The annual transmission capacity is 4×109m³. Phase I has two branch lines. One
is 32.6 km, from Pingshan to Huizhou; the other is 78.8 km, from Pingshan, to the power
generation plant of Qianwan and Meishi.
The pipeline of Phase II is 181.7 km in length, begins at the Hengqin islet of Zhuhai,
goes through Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Heshan, and ends at Foshan. Its annual
transmission capacity is 8.2 ×109m³.
Two tanks of 1.35×105 m³ are fabricated for Phase
built for Phase II.
, and a tank of 105 m³ will be
The evaporator is heated by seawater, and a burner will be built in case of insufficient
heating ability. The re-gasification capacity of Phases I and II are 1200 m³/h and 2000
m³/h, respectively.
A LNG carrier of 1.36×105m³ can be laid at anchor. The connection bridge between
the carrier and the terminal is 450m in length, and the depth of water in the receiving
terminal is 13.2 m.
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The Phase I of the receiving terminal and gas piping project costs 5.1 billion RMB,
and the Phase II of the project will cost 2.1 billion RMB.
It is about 70% of imported LNG is used for power generation and industry, and the
rest is supplied for city gas.
The LNG will be imported from Australia and the contract includes 3×106t/a LNG for
a period of 25 years. The contract is offered by China marine petroleum company on
August 8, 2002.
China marine petroleum company will establish the second Chinese LNG receiving
terminal at Meizhou bay in Fujian, and it is contracting with BP on the gas resource. The
initial LNG import will be 2.5×106 t/a, and the gas supply will be from Donggu gas field
of Indonesia.
LNG Tank Truck
LNG is transmitted by tank trucks. By far, there are more than 10 LNG tank trucks in
use. There are two kinds of tank trucks in China, 27m3 and 40m3.
27m3 LNG Tank Truck
The 27m3 LNG tank truck has a capacity of 27 m³, which equals to 1.6×104m³ natural
gas at 101.325kPa, 20ºC.
The LNG tank is thermally insulated by vacuumed and filled with fiber between the
inner and outer shell. The inner shell and pipeline is made of austenitic stainless steel0Cr18Ni9; the outer shell is made of low alloy steel-16MnR. The support between the
inner and outer shell is epoxy glass fiber reinforced plastics, which is suitable for thermal
insulation at cryogenic temperature.
Figure 7 is the structure scheme of LNG tank truck.
Fig.7 The structure scheme of LNG tank truck
1–truck tractor; 2–safety devices of outer shell; 3–outer shell;
4–fiber of vacuum insulation layer; 5–inner shell; 6–operation panel;
7–instrument, valves and piping; 8–THT9360 underpan of tractor-trailer
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The underpan of the tank truck is model number ND1926S, which the standard on the
north-Benz vehicle. The dimensions of LNG tank truck are 14.5×2.5×3.8 m.
The truck contains a loading and unloading system, a self-contained pressuring
system, a cleaning system, an system controlling instrument, an emergency shut valve, a
safety system, a vacuuming unit, and a sampling and full load analysis device.
Since LNG is combustible liquid, the truck has such safety facilities as an emergency
shut-down switch, a quick melting plug, fireproofing equipment, an nitrogen flashing and
filling system, grounding and a fire hydrant.
40m3 LNG Truck Tank
40m3 LNG truck tank is a semi-trailer, with a LNG tank of 0.8Mpa.
The dimensions of 40m3LNG tank truck are about 14.5×2.5×3.8 m. The tank is
protected by two side board, and the truck is also safeguarded by rear-installed safety
devices.
LNG Carrier
The advanced technology is needed for building the LNG carrier.
China is the third largest ship manufacturer. Several Chinese ship manufacturers are
preparing to make the LNG carrier. Shanghai Hudong Zhonghua Ship Making Group has
completed the model of simulation carrier. It has been proposed to build GTT NO.96
LNG carriers, which has 4 cargo apartment, with a total transfer capacity of 138,000 m³.
Application Of LNG
LNG satellite stations
Table 1 shows the built and building LNG satellite stations in China, which all
receive LNG for Zhongyuan LNG plant.
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Table 1 LNG satellite stations in China
The site of
LNG
satellite
stations
Suzhou
LNG satellite stations in commission
Longchuan
Jiangyan Yuyao
Zibo
Design
production
capacity
/(m3/d)
20000
120000
9500
(current)
33000
(in the
future)
2001.12
2002.5
Commission 2001.12
date
Jiujiang
Shuyang
6900
12600
11500
11465
2002.7
2002.10
2003.5
2003.6
LNG satellite stations in commission underconstruction
The site of Yangjiang
LNG
satellite
stations
Ji’an
Zhaoqing Shangyao
New
Jingde
District of zheng
Shenyang
Design
production
capacity
/(m3/d)
27500
25000
28600
25000
25000
Commissio
n date
2003.10
2003.12
2004.5
2004.5
2004.7
Caozhou
400000 750000
A. Suzhou LNG Satellite Station in Jiangsu province
Suzhou LNG Satellite Station is built by Suzhou Gas Group Ltd.
The Suzhou LNG satellite station has following functions: (1) LNG unloading and
storage. (2) re-gasification, regulation, blending with water gas and coal gas, and transfer
to city pipeline.
The station has a recent gas supply ability 20000 Nm³/d. The peak supply volume is
1200 Nm³/h. The future gas supply ability will be 30000 Nm³/d and will cover the city
gas and LNG vehicle refueling.
The LNG is re-gasified by air or steam evaporator. The air evaporator mainly works
in summer, and the steam evaporator mainly works in winter. Air heated evaporator is a
fined tube heat exchanger and
LNG flows in the tube.
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The main facilities of the satellite station are two cryogenic tanks, which is 100m³
each. The space between inner shell and outer shell is filled with pearlite, and vacuumed.
Two pressuring evaporators help to pressurize and discharge fluids in the tank, whose
output gas rating is 150kg/h.
There are two air-heated evaporators and one steam-heated evaporator at the station,
each of which has a production rating of 600 Nm³/h. A BOG heater at the station can
produce 400 Nm³/h of natural gas.
B. Zhibo LNG Satellite Station
The Zhibo LNG Satellite Station was built on December 2, 2001. It can provide
natural gas 120000 Nm³/day. Figure 8 is bird’s-eye view of the Zhibo LNG Satellite
Station in Shandong province.
Figure 8 Bird’s-eye view of the Zhibo LNG Satellite Station
in Shandong province
The main facilities of the satellite station are as follows:
(1) twelve cryogenic tanks, which is 106m³ each.
(2) eight air-heated evaporators which can re-gasify LNG 1500kg/h.
(3) one steam-heated evaporator which can re-gasify LNG 4000kg/h.
(4) Cryogenic pipe made out of 0Cr18Ni9 material, the attached cryogenic valves which
are provided by Japan Saisan company, and insulation of cryogenic pipe.
LNG Vehicle
Sponsored by the Shanghai Science and Technology department, a prototype bus
powered by LNG has been made by Shanghai Jiaotong University and Shanghai Sunwin
Bus Corporation. Figure 9 is the prototype bus powered by LNG.
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Figure 9 The prototype bus powered by LNG
Zhongyuan Green energy Science and Technology Company is researching LNG
powered buses in Beijing. Figure 10 is the LNG technical demonstration station and
prototype bus powered by LNG.
Figure 10 The LNG technical demonstration station and
prototype bus powered by LNG
PROSPECT OF CHINA LNG INDUSTRY
LNG industry is a newly build industry in China. There are many works to be carried
out on the LNG producing and application, which mainly contains the follow aspects:
(1) Miniature natural gas liquefying plants.
(2) Cold energy utilization of LNG.
(3) Localization of equipment in LNG chain.
(4) LNG carriers.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper reviews the present advances of LNG industry in China, which includes
the LNG plants, LNG receiving terminals, LNG truck tanks, and LNG satellite stations.
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