GE and Energas to build LNG infrastructure

GE Oil & Gas and Dalian Energas Gas-System Co., Ltd. (Energas) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build LNG infrastructure in China.

Small-scale LNG

According to the MoU, GE, through enCryo, a GE O&G and Maison joint venture in China, will build a small-scale LNG plant with a daily production capacity of 50,000 m³ in Xinjiang, China. Over the next three years, the companies will work together to build up to eight similarly sized plants in the region.

This agreement is part of a strategic relationship between GE Oil & Gas, enCryo and Energas to support the development and use of unconventional gas sources in China and provide a cleaner source of fuel.

Chinese demand

It is expected that China will demand natural gas of 219 billion m³ by 2015 and 411 billion m³ by 2020. To meet the rapidly growing demands for energy, part of China’s 13th Five Year Plan is to develop unconventional gas as a major fuel source. However, China’s unconventional natural gas sources are relatively small and scattered, and the country’s limited gas pipeline network leaves much of its natural gas resources untapped and stranded.

GE’s modular, small-scale LNG plants are well-suited for processing and liquefying gas in remote areas to help complement limited gas pipeline networks and improve the efficiency of gas usage.

Comments

Xie Bing, Chairman of Energas, commented: “China has abundant resources in natural gas, coal seam gas and shale gas. Using these resources efficiently will reduce CO₂ emissions and help address the increasingly hazardous environmental issues we face in China. By implementing GE’s small-scale LNG solutions, we hope to ultimately enable highly secure utilisation of flare gas associated with oilfield drilling in Xinjiang.

“The LNG we provide will also contribute to China’s clean energy initiatives by replacing diesel as a cleaner-burning fuel for long-haul buses and heavy-duty trucking.”

Gas infrastructure

Lorenzo Simonelli, President & CEO of GE Oil & Gas, added: “The cooperation with Energas demonstrates GE’s commitment to the building of the natural gas infrastructure market globally and specifically in China. Backed by GE’s experience and proven solutions in natural gas monetisation, we hope to take a bold step forward in LNG application with this collaboration and significantly contribute to China’s clean energy initiatives.”

The modular, small-scale LNG plant design with standardised components provides customers with all the benefits of an integrated, plug-and-play solution, a simplified plant control process with remote monitoring capabilities, decreased plant commissioning times, simplified maintenance and reduced overall installation costs. The LNG plants will be designed, engineered and manufactured through EnCryo Engineering.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/30092014/ge-and-energas-collaborate-on-small-scale-lng-1507/