Page 7 - GLNG Week 44
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GLNG AFRICA GLNG
Renergen signs Virginia Gas Project contracts
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
SOUTH Africa’s Renergen is moving forward with work on the Virginia Gas Project, which will be the country’s first commercial LNG plant, as well as the first liquid helium plant in Africa.
Last week, the company awarded two major contracts for work on the facility. One of the contracts went to another South African firm – EPCM Bonisana, which will install a pipeline and manage the interface between the pipe and other parts of the facility. The other contract went to Western Shell Cryogenic Equipment (WSCE), a Chinese firm, and covers the delivery of tech- nology and equipment for the plant.
Renergen said in a statement that it had cho- sen to work with WSCE because the Chinese company had extensive experience in the con- struction of small-scale LNG plants. The con- tractor built its first facility of this type in 2004 and was responsible for constructing the smallest LNG plant in the world in 2007.
“We look forward to seeing Renergen and
WSCE making liquid natural gas and liquid helium in South Africa a reality,” the statement said.
The South African company did not reveal the value of the contracts or say when WSCE and EPCM Bonisana would begin work. It did say, though, that the Virginia Gas Project was due to begin regular commercial operations in the first half of 2021. The facility will eventually be able to turn out 645.3 tonnes per day of LNG and 350 kg per day of liquid helium, it said.
According to the statement, Renergen will build the plant according to a modular plan, and each section will be the size of a standard ship- ping container. This will make the modules eas- ier to transport and install, it commented.
The company also noted that the plant’s energy consumption levels would be relatively low. This is because the design calls for using a mixed refrigeration cycle to liquefy the gases, it explained.
ASIA
Thai power producers to develop Vietnamese LNG projects
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
THAI power producers B.Grimm Power and Gulf Energy Development have signed agree- ments with Vietnam to develop LNG-fuelled power projects in the South-East Asian country.
Small-scale power producer B.Grimm agreed on November 2 to study and develop a 3,000- MW LNG-fired thermal power plant (TPP) with state-owned Petrovietnam Power, using an existing 1,500-MW TPP in Ca Mau Province as the project’s base.
“If the study finds that LNG is viable, this power plant will double power generation by another 1,500 MW in the second phase,” The Bangkok Post quoted B.Grimm president Preey- anartSoontornwataassaying.“Theprojectwill depend on the feasibility study, scheduled to be completed next May.”
Noting that several LNG suppliers had approached B.Grimm offering gas prices lower than PTT, Soontornwata added: “The LNG market has more potential in the future as new supply enters worldwide, so we are not worried about an interruption in supply.”
B.Grimm’s board of directors is scheduled to approve the deal in early 2020.
Thailand’s third-largest power utility Gulf Energy, meanwhile, signed an agreement with the Ninh Thuan Provincial People’s Committee to develop a gas-fired TPP and LNG terminal in the province on November 2. The company said
it would locate facilities in the province’s Ca Na subdistrict and Thuan Nam district.
Gulf Energy has previously proposed devel- oping a 6,000-MW TPP and 6mn tonne per year (tpy) LNG import terminal in Vietnam.
Gulf Energy’s executive director, Yupapin Wangviwat, said: “The Vietnam government issued a letter to support Gulf ’s investment there by jointly working with state agencies at provin- cial and national levels. Both parties agreed to extend their co-operation to exchange studies, expertise and know-how in gas-fired power plants, an LNG terminal and financing capacities for the development of the integrated LNG-to- powerproject.”
Thai power producers are looking for LNG opportunities in neighbouring countries owing to the slow pace of reform at home. Thai law- makers have been talking about liberalising the local LNG market, which is dominated by state-owned PTT, for years. However, Bangkok has only approved state-run Electricity Gener- ating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to begin importing the fuel and, even then, has forced the utility to suspend its plans to sign a long- term supply deal with Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas.B.Grimm’s Soontornwata said the company was mulling whether to extend its gas supply contracts with PTT or hold out for mar- ket reforms.
Week 44 07•November•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7
