Tajiri Mapesa
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 26, 2020
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1. Alaska LNG Liquefaction Plant
Cost: $43 billion
Location: USA
Longstanding plans for Alaska’s LNG Mega-Project could take a step forward in 2020.
One of the biggest LNG mega-projects in the world, it includes a three-train liquefaction plant, gas treatment plant and 800 mile pipeline. The facility is intended to export 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day from Alaska’s North Slope gas fields.
The liquefaction plant will have a capacity of 20mtpa and is expected to receive 2.8 bcf/d to liquefy. This part of the project alone will require construction of three LNG trains, two 240,000 cubic meter storage tanks, terminal facilities and marine services and two loading berths capable of accommodating Q-Flex LNG carriers up to 217,000 cubic metres. Construction will require 3,500 - 5,000 workers at peak times, and 100,000 - 150,000 tons of steel.
The project has been in the pipeline for several years, with a number of invested parties operating as a consortium under the name Alaska LNG. This includes ExxonMobil with a 35% share, ConocoPhillips Alaska (20%) and Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (25%). BP also held a 20% share but agreed in August 2019 to sell all their Alaskan interests to Hilcorp Alaska for $5.6 billion. Subject to state and federal regulatory appeal, the transaction should be complete later this year.
The project is still waiting for federal approval following a series of environment impact studies and public comment periods. However a final environmental impact statement is expected to be made in March 2020. If this allows the project to move forward then it is hoped that a final investment decision can also be made later this year.
(Image via ExxonMobil)
2. Rovuma LNG Project
Cost: $33 billion
Location: Mozambique
Africa’s largest ever private project, a final investment decision on the Rovuma LNG project is expected to be made later this year, after an EPC contract was awarded by ExxonMobil to JGC Corp. in October 2019.
Rovuma LNG is one of three major LNG export projects that are currently being developed in Mozambique (the others being Coral LNG and Mozambique LNG), that are hoped will leverage the country to become one of the world’s top LNG producers.
The Rovuma facility is expected to have an output of 15.2 million tons of LNG per year, with an operational lifespan of 30 years. ExxonMobil have announced plans to invest $500 million in the initial construction phase, which will involve installation of two liquefaction trains as well as associated onshore facilities.
If the FID is made on schedule then production is due to begin in 2025.
(Image via Fluor)
3. Al Zour Refinery
Cost: $16 billion
Location: Kuwait
Planned since 2007 but put on hold two years later following the drop in oil prices, construction on Kuwait’s Al Zour Refinery finally began in 2017, with the facility scheduled to come online in June this year.
Located 90km south of Kuwait, it will be one of the biggest refineries in the world, producing 100,000 barrels per day of low-sulphur fuel oil to be used as feedstock by the Ministry of Electricity & Water for power generation. It will use more than 1.5 million b/d of crude and 300 MMcf/d of gas feedstock.
The project entails five phases. The first is the construction of the main facilities, including three atmospheric residue desulphurisation (ARDS) units featuring two trains each, three crude distillation units (CDU), three diesel hydrotreating units (DHTU), two naphtha hydrotreating units (NHTU) and two kerosene hydrotreating units (KHTU).
The second and third phases are the construction of support process units, utilities and off-sites. The fourth and fifth involve the construction of a 6.5 million barrels capacity storage tank farm and interconnecting pipelines and marine and export facilities including jetties and roll-on, roll-off berths.
The refinery is due to begin production by December 2020.
(Image via Shana)
4. South Pars Phases 13-14
Cost: $13 billion
Location: Iran
Operating in the world’s largest gas field, South Pars phases 13-14 are intended to produce 3 billion cubic feet a day of gas to be used as feedstock by the Persian LNG project.
According to the managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company, who are in charge of developing the field, full development of the field will supply “75 percent of the country’s gas consumption for 25 years”.
Stage 13 facilities include:
- 38 wells
- 4 platforms, each with a capacity of 500mcfd
- 2 32 inch main pipelines totaling a length of 260km
- 2 4.5 inch MEG injection pipelines
- 2 18 inch infield pipelines totaling a length of 14km
- 44 wells
- 4 platforms, each with a capacity of 500mcfd
- 2 32 inch main pipelines totaling a length of 260km
- 2 4.5 inch MEG injection pipelines
- 2 18 inch infield pipelines totaling a length of 18km
(Image via Woodside)
5. Scarborough Gas Project & Pluto LNG Expansion
Cost: $11 billion
Location: Australia
Woodside are planning to expand the Pluto LNG facility through the addition of a second LNG liquefaction train with a targeted capacity of 4-5 mtpa, that will allow them to develop the gas from the Scarborough field, located 270km off the coast of Western Australia.
Currently the facility has a single-train capacity of 4.9mtpa which uses feedstock from the Pluto and Xena fields.
Due to delays in the planning of the $20.5 billion Browse project, Woodside are moving up their anticipated target for the Scarborough project with the hopes of making a final investment decision in early 2020.
(Image via Dangote)
6. Dangote Refinery and Polypropylene Plant
Cost: $11 billion
Location: Nigeria
Based in the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Nigeria, the Dangote Refinery and Polypropylene plant is intended to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility. Its construction will increase Nigeria’s refining capacity two-fold, making the country less dependent on imported refined fuel products.
The facility will include a crude distillation unit (CDU), a single-train residual fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, diesel hydrotreating, continuous catalyst regeneration unit, alkylation unit, polypropylene unit, utilities and offsite including a captive power plant and infrastructure for a single-point mooring terminal for crude oil and product handling.
It will be able to process different grades of crude including shale oil, and will have a production capacity of 153,000 b/d of gasoline, 104,000 b/d of diesel, 73,000 b/d of jet fuel, 4,109 b/d of LPG and 12,300 b/d of fuel oil.
Construction of the plant is intended to be completed by the end of the year, with the facility starting up in early 2021. In December 2019 the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board announced that $368 million of contracts were being awarded to 120 local contractors to further boost implementation of the local content policy in Nigeria through 2020.
In total, the project is thought to generate 9,500 direct and 25,000 indirect jobs throughout the country.
(Image via ENTSOG)
7. Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline
Cost: $10.8 billion
Location: Russia
The 1,290km Russia-Germany Nord Stream 2 Pipeline is scheduled for completion later this year, if it can overcome significant legislative hurdles.
The pipeline running across the Baltic Sea is intended to double the gas capacity of the Nord Stream route to 110 billion m3 per annum. The project involves two offshore strings with an aggregate annual capacity of 55Bcm (1.9Tcf) of gas, coming from the Yamal Peninsula which is thought to hold 4.9 Tcm (173 Tcf) of gas reserves.
A consortium including Gazprom, E.ON, OMV and Engie are operating the project, which began construction in May 2018. By August last year it was reported that 75% of the pipeline had been laid, despite consent not having been granted by Denmark for a section that would run through its territorial waters. Approval was granted by Denmark in October.
It was hoped that the pipeline could start up in the second half of this year.
However work was halted on the 21st December 2019 in response to a defence spending package signed by US President Donald Trump which threatened sanctions if pipeline construction continued. It was believed by Washington that Nord Stream 2 would make Europe too reliant on Russian LNG supplies - with state controlled company Gazprom already supplying more than a third of Europe’s gas needs - and reduce export potential for the US.
The operators reaffirmed their intention to complete the pipeline in a statement, saying:
“Completing the project is essential for European supply security. We together with the companies supporting the project will work on finishing the pipeline as soon as possible.”
Having faced down multiple hurdles and being near the point of completion already, the future of this project is an interesting prospect and certainly one to watch this year.
(Image via Cameron LNG)
8. Cameron LNG Liquefaction Plant
Cost: $10.2 billion
Location: USA
The Louisiana-based Cameron LNG Liquefaction Plant is approaching completion this year, with an intended capacity of 14.95 million tons per annum from three liquefaction trains.
The project, based on the boundary of Cameron Parish and Calcasieu, is one of the biggest LNG projects in the USA and created 3,000 jobs over peak construction.
The first train went online in May last year and first liquid was announced from Train 2 in December. Completion of this train is expected in the first quarter of this year, with Train 3 due to start commercial operation in Q3 2020.
(Image via Arrow Energy)
9. Surat Gas Project
Cost: $7.15 billion
Location: Australia
Queensland’s onshore project is intended to produce 4 Tcf of gas from the Surat Basin over a period of 27 years. The basin is estimated to hold more than 60% of Australia’s total proven coal seam gas reserves.
Arrow Energy are leading the project, with multiple phases due to be developed - the first being the development of the Tipton gas fields near the Dalby region. They intend to build 18 production facilities including gas compressors, water storage and treatment plants and power generation plants. Buried high-pressure gas pipelines will link the facilities and connect them to the gas transmission network, while buried water pipelines will connect the production facilities with sites of beneficial use. Each production well will be fitted with a 60kWp CSG-fired power generator.
The Queensland government approved 14 petroleum leases for the project in March last year. Arrow have set a start-up target of 2021, with peak production of 4mtpa aimed for 2026, so construction is expected to begin very early this year.
(Image via TAP)
10. Trans Adriatic Pipeline
Cost: $5.5 billion
Location: Greece
Construction on the 878km Trans Adriatic Pipeline began in 2016, and it is expected that the Greek section will begin receiving gas early this year, with Italy receiving gas from the pipeline in the fourth quarter of 2020.
The pipeline transports Caspian natural gas to Europe. It will start at the Greek-Turkish border, where it connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline, and will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before connecting with the Southern Italian natural gas network. It’s intended to open up the Southern Gas Corridor by offering a direct and cost-effective transportation route.
The pipeline will initially be able to carry 10 billion cubic metres of gas per annum, with the option to expand to 20 Bcm per annum, and is able to reverse flow if required.