Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 28 2022
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AsiaElec GAS GENERATION AsiaElec
Marubeni, Osaka Gas, Peru
LNG plan feasibility study for
synthetic methane production
JAPAN TWO Japanese companies, Marubeni and neutrality, as it is supposed to account for more
Osaka Gas, have announced plans to team up than 1% of all gas circulating through the coun-
with Peru LNG for a study of synthetic methane try’s pipelines by 2030, rising to 90% by 2050.
production in Peru. Marubeni is already a shareholder in Peru
Marubeni said in a statement that the part- LNG. It owns a 10% non-operating stake in the
ners had signed an agreement outlining their natural gas liquefaction plant and complex in
plans for a joint study of the feasibility of pro- Pampa Melchorita.
ducing synthetic methane in Peru for sale to The remaining equity in Peru LNG is split
domestic and export markets, including Japan. between Hunt Oil (US), with 50%; SK Energy
The study will analyse and evaluate the viability (South Korea), 20%; and Shell (UK), 20%.
of such a project, which has “great potential to The partners spent $3.8bn to build the Pampa
achieve carbon neutrality” in the gas sector, the Melchorita complex, which includes a 4.45mn
statement said. tonne per year (tpy) gas liquefaction plant
It went on to say that the companies were built by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (CBI) and
examining proposals for producing synthetic a marine terminal constructed by a consortium
gas through methanation, a process that com- known as CDB. (This group includes Italy’s
bines green hydrogen produced from renewa- Saipem, Luxembourg’s Jan de Nul and Brazil’s
ble energy with carbon dioxide extracted from Odebrecht.)
industrial facilities to yield methane, the key The complex also incorporates a storage
component of natural gas. Peru is well suited for depot with two 130,000-cubic metre tanks and
such an endeavour, as it has existing gas infra- a 34-inch (860-mm) natural gas pipeline. This
structure that can be used for the project and pipe handles gas from fields in the Cusco region
abundant supplies of renewable energy, it added. that are being developed by YPF, the national oil
The scheme is also in line with the Japanese company (NOC) of Argentina, and Repsol of
government’s Sixth Strategic Energy Plan, which Spain. The link runs for 408 km from Chiquin-
was unveiled in October 2021. Under that plan, tirca, a town in the Ayacucho region, to the LNG
synthetic methane is slated to play a major role in plant.
the Japanese gas sector’s progress toward carbon
Week 28 13•July•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9
