One of the largest EPCI (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation) contractors for the offshore oil and gas industry in the Asia Pacific region has chosen Svanehøj Tank Control Systems to implement tank gauging system to improve safety on six new LNG tanks of 220,000 m3.
Svanehøj Tank Control Systems (STCS) in February 2023 is expected to deliver to Offshore Oil Engineering Co. (COOEC) a tank gauging system for six new LNG tanks for the Longkou Nanshan LNG Terminal currently under construction.
“One consequence of increased global trade in LNG is an increased diversification of LNG supply sources,” (STCS) explained in a statement. “The import terminals must increasingly handle LNG with different compositions, which is a primary concern in terms of assuring stability and safety in LNG storage.”
“It can be an unstable stratification that can evolve into a rollover of the layers,” Svanehøj Tank Control Systems Sales Manager David Clercq said. “This causes an increase in the boil off rate up to 10 times than the normal condition, increase or over pressurization of the tank, or lifting of relief valve of the tanks.”
The servo level gauges are expected to provide continuous measurement of the LNG level using a servo-driven sensor that is in direct contact with the liquid, thereby ensuring that the levels inside the LNG-storage are stable.
The LTD gauges would simultaneously provide accurate measurement of the temperature and density throughout the LNG column in each tank, according to SCTS.
The order from COOEC includes 18 servo level gauges, six LTD gauges, 12 multi-spot temperature sensors, and hardware and software for data acquisition and rollover prediction.
“The contract is the largest to date for Svanehøj Tank Control Systems in China and is the result of an increased focus on the attractive Chinese LNG market,” SCTS said.
“ China is by far the biggest market in terms of onshore LNG regasification terminals, and the new order for the Longkou Nanshan LNG Terminal is a huge achievement and milestone for our new sales strategy in China,” another Svanehøj Tank Control Systems sales manager, Fabrice Vandewalle, said.
The order for Longkou Nanshan LNG Terminal is the latest of four orders at Chinese LNG terminals. SCTS has also implemented tank gauging systems on six tanks at Fujian LNG Terminal, six tanks at Ningbo LNG Terminal and four tanks at Tangshan LNG Terminal. In addition, the company said that it’s already planning expansions at the Ningbo, the Tangshan, and the Longkou Nanshan LNG terminals with the latter expected to reach a total quantity of 20 LNG tanks.
Svanehøj’s Tank Control Systems business was established in Calais, France in 1961 as Whessoe plc. The company equipped its first gas carriers in the 1970s and its first LNG storage tank in 1983. It was part of Wärtsilä from 2006 until being acquired by Svanehøj in 2022.