Honeywell announced today that Venture Global LNG, Inc. will use a series of technologies from Honeywell UOP (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) to remove various contaminants from natural gas prior to liquefaction at its Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
Honeywell UOP will provide engineering, procurement and fabrication services for the complex which, when completed, will produce 10 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG for export to markets in Asia, Europe and other locations.
“With this project, Honeywell UOP is helping Venture Global LNG build a facility that provides the lowest-cost supply of LNG by using large-scale high-performance equipment,” said Ben Owens, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Gas Processing and Hydrogen business. “By delivering this technology in modular form, we can reduce construction and installation costs compared with traditional field-constructed systems.”
“Honeywell UOP is an established leader in advanced proprietary technologies for gas pretreatment, and we’re pleased to be partnered with them on this critical project,” said Bob Pender, co-CEO of Venture Global LNG. “These technologies are proven and reliable, and the delivery of those technologies in modular form provides better quality and adherence to delivery schedules,” added co-CEO Mike Sabel.
The project will include a Honeywell UOP Mercury Removal Unit (MRU) and three separate trains each consisting of an Acid Gas Removal Unit (AGRU) and molecular sieve dehydration unit. Taken together, these modular units will remove water, mercury, carbon dioxide and sulfur from 1.6 billion standard cubic feet per day of natural gas so it can be liquefied and safely transported to customers on ocean-going vessels.
Mercury occurs naturally in small concentrations in most natural gas. Effective mercury removal processes are necessary to protect cryogenic equipment used to liquefy natural gas. UOP’s non-regenerable adsorbents in the MRU remove even trace quantities of mercury effectively.
Other naturally occurring contaminants such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, often referred to as acid gases, must be removed from natural gas before it can be liquefied. The natural gas is treated by passing it through an amine solution in the AGRU. After being treated, the natural gas is dehydrated using UOP molecular sieves to remove all the water to prevent freezing in the cryogenic liquefaction process.
Venture Global LNG is a long-term, low-cost provider of LNG to be supplied from resource-rich North American natural gas basins. Venture Global LNG has begun construction of the 10 MTPA Venture Global Calcasieu Pass facility at the intersection of the Calcasieu Ship Channel and the Gulf of Mexico and is developing the 20 MTPA Venture Global Plaquemines LNG facility 30 miles south of New Orleans on the Mississippi River, and the 20 MTPA Venture Global Delta LNG facility, also on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans. Venture Global has raised $855 million of capital to date to support the development of its projects. More can be found at www.venturegloballng.com.
Honeywell UOP (www.uop.com) is a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, equipment, and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries.