OREANDA-NEWS. April 21, 2011. IHI Corporation (IHI) and Aker Solutions are to jointly offer engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) solutions for LNG liquefaction plants using Chart Energy & Chemical’s (Chart) liquefaction technology.

Entry into the mid-scale LNG liquefaction industry by IHI and Aker Solutions, in collaboration with Chart, reflects this dynamic and rapid movement in the LNG market. IHI and Aker Solutions are also focusing on the most recent trend in the North American LNG markets, where extensive growth in the development of shale gas as a resource in recent years has led gas operators to consider adding a liquefaction export facility to their existing LNG import terminals.

Given LNG is clean, safe and easy to use, with low CO2 emissions, recent research indicates the worldwide demand for LNG is expected to grow stronger in the future with the supply-demand balance not expected to tighten until 2015. Whereas in the past, LNG developments have focused on a few very large gas fields, it is shifting toward a wide variety of gas sources, including the more than 2,000 mid-tier gas fields with reserves of between 0.25 and 5.0 trillion cubic feet. These fields exist throughout the world as stranded gas fields, gases that would previously have been wasted through flaring, and unconventional gas resources such as coal bed methane, shale gas, etc.

IHI and Aker Solutions have together, as a general partnership, executed EPC for LNG related projects since 2004. In 2009, they successfully completed the Cameron LNG import terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana, USA. Scheduled for completion in 2011, work is currently being executed for the Gulf LNG import terminal in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA.

IHI and Aker Solutions will jointly provide EPC and project management of the entire liquefaction plant, including pre-treatment, storage, loading, and all other utilities and offsite facilities.

Chart will provide the liquefaction technology, along with engineering, procurement and fabrication of the key liquefaction equipment. Chart’s Integrated Pre-Cooled Single Mixed Refrigerant (IPSMRTM) process allows for simple, compact, and modular plant configurations. It is best suited for mid-scale facilities with annual liquefaction capacities of up to 2.0 million tons, providing the opportunity for faster delivery and start-up with lower lifecycle costs.

Having a broad experience worldwide in the construction of LNG receiving terminals, entering the LNG liquefaction market allows IHI to offer clients a wider range of services in the worldwide LNG value chain, building upon the solid LNG storage and re-gasification capability that both companies possess.