#regasification

According to MarketsandMarkets projects that the global small-scale LNG market will grow from USD 46.4 billion in 2022 to USD 92.8 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 14.9%, during the forecast period. The global energy landscape is witnessing a significant shift towards cleaner and more sustainable fuel options. In this transition, small-scale LNG (liquefied natural gas) has emerged as a flexible and efficient solution to meet the energy demands of diverse industries and regions. With the increasing focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to cleaner fuels, LNG is gaining popularity as a viable alternative to conventional fossil fuels. Small-scale LNG offers lower emissions, especially when used in transportation and power generation applications, making it an attractive option for industries aiming to reduce their carbon footprint. 

The rising demand for LNG from different end-use applications such as heavy-duty vehicles, and industrial & power are propelling the growth of the small-scale LNG market globally. However, factors such as the maritime industry is undergoing a significant shift towards cleaner fuels to comply with stricter environmental regulations. Small-scale LNG plays a pivotal role in this transition, with LNG bunkering becoming increasingly important for ships and vessels. 

Linde plc is one of the leading companies in the international gas market. It comprises two divisions, gases and engineering. Linde operates in two main business segments: industrial gases and engineering. The industrial gases operations are structured based on geography and are divided into three reportable segments: Americas, EMEA (Europe/Middle East/Africa), and APAC (Asia/South Pacific). Each segment focuses on delivering industrial gases to customers within its respective region. Additionally, the engineering business represents the fourth reportable segment, operating on a global scale. The engineering division of the company is spread worldwide, with a focus on market segments including natural gas, olefin, hydrogen, air separation, and synthesis gas plants. The small to mid-scale LNG terminals are operated under the engineering division. The Star LNG concept was established for the small-scale liquefaction capacities ranging between 100 and 600 tons per day. Such small-scale liquefaction plants typically consist of LNG storage tanks, liquefaction and natural gas treatment units, and LNG filling station. It has supplied more than 300 cryogenic processing plants to Australia, Norway, Germany, and China. Linde plc has vast experience in design, development, and construction of natural gas processing plants, including small-scale LNG terminals along with storage, import, export, and loading facilities. 

Wartsila Corporation is one of the key leaders in advanced technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. The company is one of the global suppliers of flexible power plants with a capacity of up to 600 MW, operating on gas and liquid fuels. Wartsila operates through four business segments: Wartsila marine power, Wartsila marine system, Wartsila energy, and Wartsila voyage. It offers small scale LNG solutions, including small and medium-scale terminals and distribution systems, under the energy solutions division. Marine segments offers a range of products and solutions that are relevant to the transportation of LNG using shuttle tankers. The company delivers small and medium-scale LNG terminals with the storage capacity of 100-160,000 cubic meter, under an Energy, Procurement, Construction (EPC) delivery arrangement. Wartsila offers LNG liquefaction plants and barge, containing storage tanks and regasification systems. 

ENGIE SA engages in the provision of electricity, natural gas, and energy related services. It operates through the following segments: Renewables, Networks, Energy Solutions, Thermal, Supply, Nuclear, and Others. Elengy, a subsidiary of Engie, operates three LNG import terminals in France, and its services are available to international energy providers. These import terminals are equipped with small-scale infrastructure providing services such as truck loading, bunkership, transshipment, and reloading. The subsidiary provides its LNG expertise to support the development of small and large-scale LNG terminals worldwide. 

Other companies have initiated the following developments:

In June 2023, Wartsila Corporation has got the contract to increase the capacity of the regasification system on the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU). This floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) vessel is owned by LNG Hrvatska, based in Zagreb, and serves as an LNG terminal on Krk island. The Wartsila Corporation will work together with the existing regasification system on the ship and increase its capacity by 212 million standard cubic feet per day or 250,000 cubic meters per hour.

In February 2023, Elengy, a subsidiary of ENGIE S.A, has entered into an agreement with Delta Rail, a transportation company. The purpose of this agreement is to introduce a new service for loading LNG containers from multimodal platforms in Europe. This agreement will allow customers to load LNG containers onto Delta Rail's wagons at Elengy's LNG terminals in France and Belgium, and then transport the containers to their final destinations by rail.This agreement is expected to reduce the cost and environmental impact of transporting LNG by making it possible to transport LNG containers by rail over longer distances.

In January 2022, Elengy has recently announced the signing of its first customer agreements for the satellite storage of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in Reichstett, located in Bas-Rhin. This project has been developed in partnership with Rubis Terminal

How Does LNG Terminal Works?

LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) terminal is a reception facility for unloading of cargo from LNG tankers. This purpose built ports are specially used for export and import of LNG.  A variety of facilities for unloading, regasification, tanking, metering etc. of LNG are provided at these terminals. Natural gas is transported in liquified state using LNG gas tankers. At LNG terminals, the liquified…