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onventional natural gas supply solutions require a
minimum volume of fuel delivered in order to make
the necessary investments in the whole supply chain
profitable. Unfortunately, this can prevent smaller scale markets
from accessing the cleanest fossil fuels. For example, an LNG
supply with a conventional solution is cost-effective for volumes
greater than 2 billion m³/yr, far from the typical small scale
volumes of around 0.2 billion m³/yr or below.
The fact that these small scale demands are usually found in
remote areas with significant environmental restrictions makes it
necessary to find more environmentally friendly solutions than
the installation of a conventional jetty and its consequent impact
on the seabed.
Despite these setbacks, small scale LNG markets are
estimated to make up approximately 50% of future growth, so
the need to find an economically competitive technical solution
is all the more urgent.
In response to all of the above, Naturgy developed
LNGonWheels®. This is a maritime transport and distribution
solution based on an LNG tanker truck carrier (LNGTC) to
transport LNG trucks, which has a novel module that allows the
simultaneous connection and loading of these tanker trucks from
an LNG carrier or other supply entity.
The LNGTC has the capacity to travel to coastal or port areas
where these cisterns, once loaded offshore with LNG, disembark
and supply various customer locations with the natural gas
required for their operations.
With the support of the engineering and construction
company SENER, Naturgy has developed the conceptual
Keep on
trucking
José Miguel Moreno Blanes,
Naturgy, Spain,
presents an
innovative solution to supply
LNG to small and medium
scale hard-to-reach areas.
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