Ready, Set, Launch…the First Marine CNG Project
Published in Energy Tribune Magazine / Written by Lyndon Ward
Smaller markets are demanding natural gas to combat escalating fuel costs and environmental pressure to reduce emissions. Many of these potential markets can be served by compressed natural gas (CNG) transported by a new class of gas ships. Sea NG Corporation (“Sea NG”) and partners, Marubeni Corporation (“Marubeni”) and Teekay Corporation (“Teekay”), received classification approval to construct the world’s first CNG ship – a Coselle™ CNG Carrier. The world now awaits the announcement of the first project to transport CNG by sea.
Background
The simplicity of compressing and storing natural gas is well understood. The idea of CNG marine transport dates back to the 1960’s, but early attempts at commercialization were not successful. This was largely due to the high cost of early pressure vessels and the need for effective safety standards. Today, new technologies, growing market demand, and the promulgation of new rules and guidelines for CNG ships have turned the tide.
The initial CNG ship designs used a large number of cylindrical pressure vessels or “bottles” joined together with a complex manifold. Many hundreds or even thousands of these bottles are required to store significant volumes of natural gas. As a result, these “bottle-ship” designs were complex and expensive.
Modern CNG ship containment system design has taken two directions; first, improved bottle designs, and second, a large pressure vessel in the form of a coiled pipeline. Sea NG Corporation of Canada developed this latter direction, the Coselle™ system. This patented system requires relatively few pressure vessels and a simple, efficient manifold and control system. The Coselle™ system has passed all tests and is the world’s first, and so far only, CNG ship approved as an “ABS +A1 Compressed Natural Gas Carrier”.
In developing the Coselle™ system in the mid 1990s, the inventors Dave Stenning, James Cran and John Fitzpatrick, along with their sponsors considered numerous alternatives for storing CNG. Their work resulted in patents for both Coselle™ and bottle-ship containment vessels. After considerable review and engineering it was decided that the Coselle™ system was superior in terms of safety, reliability and economics.
The Coselle™ System
The Coselle™ system is a unique means of containing and transporting CNG by sea. The Coselle™ system has been referred to as “the floating pipeline” – it is, after all, simply a series of coiled pipelines. The system includes a unique CNG containment system (the Coselle™), a Cargo Integrity Hold that monitors and controls the gas under all circumstances, customized ships, and loading and unloading facilities. While the ships are standard, the loading and unloading facilities are customized to suit each customer’s CNG shipping requirements and circumstances.
The technology behind the Coselle™ system is tried and tested. The natural gas industry has been coiling pipeline for years in the laying of sub-marine pipe. The Coselle™ is a new application of this proven technology. The coiled pipe becomes the high-pressure container that holds a large quantity of CNG, and can be easily transported by ship.
The Coselle™ technology sets Sea NG apart from all other marine CNG technologies (which are bottle-ships of one form or another). One of the biggest advantages of the Coselle™ system is simplicity. Each Coselle™ consists of several kilometers of small diameter, industry-standard, high strength steel pipe coiled onto a reel. The reel is enclosed and then filled with inert gas. The Coselles are subsequently contained in an inert gas-filled cargo house. Due to the large size of the Coselles a relatively simple manifold with few valves and controlling systems is required. This simplicity results in a system that is more reliable and less expensive to construct and operate.
In all CNG ship designs the on going and periodic inspection of the pressure vessels is a very important consideration. Coselles are coiled pipelines and therefore, many decades of experience in pipeline inspection can be directly applied to the Coselle™.
Markets
The right market conditions for marine CNG exist now. The demand for natural gas is increasing every year. Recently, the price of liquid hydrocarbon fuels has skyrocketed and forecasted long-term oil price remains high. In addition to these cost pressures there are growing environmental concerns, making the appeal of the “cleanest fossil fuel” irresistible. Simply put, many markets will now be able to replace liquid fuel with clean burning natural gas.
Sea NG provides a reliable means to supply gas to power plants and industries that are not connected to a pipeline grid, as well as markets that are not suited for LNG. Although the range depends on each situation, Sea NG’s Coselle™system serves customers requiring between 20 mmscf/d and 500 mmscf/d, where the sea route to the gas supply is within 2,500 km.
In some cases the marine transport of CNG can provide a means to commercialize “stranded gas”…natural gas reserves that have been discovered, but are not able to be developed for either commercial or technical reasons. Wood Mackenzie anticipates, “…marine transportation of CNG by ship…could potentially bring around a third of the world’s existing stranded gas fields into play”.
“We agree with Wood Mackenzie’s statement. In fact, we believe that much of the so-called “stranded gas” is no longer stranded…it just needed the right market price and a safe, reliable delivery method. We have the delivery system and the market price is very attractive compared to the alternatives.” Mr. David Stenning, President and CEO of Sea NG Corporation.
Key Hurdles
The regulatory bodies began developing new regulations for CNG ships in the mid 1990s. In determining the rules and guidelines for approving CNG ships, the classification societies looked at several factors. They considered the International Gas Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gasses in Bulk (“IGC Code”), which is the benchmark in any new gas ship design. Then they looked at their own rules for classing steel vessels and carried out formal safety assessments (FSA), hazard identification studies (HAZID) and hazard and operability analyses (HAZOP). In addition, the CNG containment system must undergo an extensive testing program. On the basis of this work standards were developed to insure that a CNG ship is at least as safe as any other gas ship. With these standards in place, the focus advances from regulation to commercialization.
The world’s first CNG ship to receive full approval for construction is the 16-Coselle CNG Ship from Canadian-based Sea NG. With this endorsement from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) in 2006, Sea NG, along with partners Marubeni Corporation and Teekay Corporation are first in line to lead the development and operation of CNG projects worldwide.
The majority of the investment in a marine CNG project is in the ships, which essentially form a “floating pipeline”. Unlike a subsea pipeline, this CNG floating pipeline can be easily moved so that in the case where either demand or supply situations change the ships (80% of the investment) can be moved to new markets. In many parts of the world there are financial and/or political uncertainties that often prevent large-scale energy infrastructure investment; the mobility of a marine CNG “floating pipeline” significantly reduces the investment risk.
A common misconception is that insurance has been an obstacle to the start up of the marine CNG industry. Sea NG, with its partners Marubeni and Teekay, have approached the insurance industry and explained the safety of the Coselle™ system. Due to the inherent safety of the Coselle™ system and the successful track record of existing marine based energy transportation services in general, it appears that insurance will not pose a barrier to project implementation. CNG transportation meets or exceeds the safety requirements for other gas carriers.
There is incredible interest for marine CNG. The Caribbean, Mediterranean, North Africa, and the east coast of Canada are investigating CNG projects. But until the first projects are finalized, the target market remains wide open to possibilities.
“The industry’s biggest challenge is pioneering the first project. Understandably it is difficult for a customer to adopt a new form of natural gas transportation. With the support of Marubeni and Teekay, Sea NG is dedicated to providing a guaranteed solution.” Mr. David Stenning, President and CEO of Sea NG Corporation
The First Marine CNG Project
The first customer and the first marine CNG technology to actually hit the market still remain to be seen. Sea NG is in late stage negotiations on several projects and is confident to be first to market. The markets are ready and the Sea NG Alliance is preparing to construct the first Coselle™ CNG ships.
