Yamal LNG

Image Source : PAO NOVATEK – Yamal LNG Plant

Location : Yamal Peninsula, Sabetta, Russian Federation

In 1974, the South Tambey field was discovered in the north-eastern part of the Yamal Peninsula. Several proposals were made to monetize these vast reserves; however, the Russian government finally approved a comprehensive plan to construct an LNG plant only in 2010. Full sanction for the plant to be built on the South Tambey field was received in March 2013. According to the PRMS reserve standards the proven and probable reserves of the South-Tambeyskoye field were appraised at 926 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The site with no land, sea or air connectivity, was located in a remote region above the polar circle. Furthermore, it comprised of permafrost terrain, which made structural design and stability extremely complicated. A regional transportation hub had to be constructed, to allow conveyance of materials and personnel for building the LNG plant. This included construction of the port of Sabetta as a public-private partnership, in addition to an international airport at the site.

The location does offer certain strategic advantages – the low average annual temperatures allow for liquefaction to be achieved using lesser specific energy, thereby potentially offering higher outputs in comparison to other plants in warmer areas. Development of a brand-new Northern Sea Route through Bering Strait to Asia opened up a 15-day express delivery option for LNG cargos from Sabetta. Custom-designed ARC 7 ice class LNG vessels were built to traverse this route without any icebreaker escort. Not only do these advantages make the location flexible and competitive, but also offer an LNG supply option to Asia and Europe throughout the year.

Construction of Yamal LNG plant was initiated in late 2013, which was not only massive in size and complexity, but also promised to be one of the most competitive in the world. The 16.5 MMTPA nameplate capacity was added in 3 phases, comprising of 3 trains of 5.5 MMTPA capacity each. The construction time as well as the US$27 billion budget were thoroughly optimised by using modular technology. Between 2013 and 2015 several long-term sale agreements were signed with prestigious buyers from Europe and Asia, committing over 95% of the plant’s output for 15 to 20-year periods. In November 2017, the project received official permission to commission the facilities for the first train, and first cargo was shipped onboard Christophe de Margerie on December 8, 2017. Maiden consignments were dispatched from Trains 2 & 3 in July 2018 and November 2018 respectively. By December 2018, Yamal LNG had already witnessed its 100^th cargo.

Approximately 12,000 construction jobs were estimated during peak construction of the project. Yamal LNG has committed to supporting the local community and preserving the history & culture of the natives. In 2014, free, prior, informed consent for the project was obtained from representatives of the indigenous people. Reindeer migration pathways were identified across Yamal LNG facilities in consultation with the Nenets, who are one of the largest Samoyed ethnic groups. Four community liaison offices were opened by Yamal LNG in Salekhard, Sabetta, Seyakha and Yar-Sale.

A special purpose environmental task force was set up while constructing the Port of Sabetta. Yamal LNG works with several research institutes and NGOs on issues relating to environmental protection and nature conservation, these include World Wildlife Fund, the Vernadsky Nongovernmental Ecological Foundation and UNDP/GEF. The project is also involved in several environmental initiatives, such as rehabilitation of the Russian Arctic, clean-up campaign on Bely Island and programs for the preservation of the Atlantic Walrus.

OWNERSHIP (Equity %)

Novatek	50.10%
Total S.A.	20.00%
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)	20.00%
Silk Road Fund	9.90%

General Data

Estimated Capital Cost (USD)	27 B
Plant Type	Onshore Modular
Plant Stage	Trains 1/2/3 : Operating
Final Investment Decision (FID) Year	2013
FEED Contractor	CB&I (now McDermott International) Chiyoda Corporation Saipem NIPIgazpererabotka
EPC Contractor	JGC Corporation Technip
No. of Trains / capacity	3 Trains / 5.5 MMTPA
Production Start Year	2017 (Train 1) 2018 (Train 2) 2018 (Train 3)
Products	LNG, Condensate
Gas Type	Both Wet gas and Dry Gas

Technical Data

Cooling Media	Air
Liquefaction Technology	APCI 50% Parallel AP-C3MR™
Refrigeration Train Details:
50% Parallel AP-C3MR™ Strings 1 & 2
Driver	GE MS7121EA DLN1 (Frame 7EA) Heavy Duty Gas Turbine
Propane Compressor	3MCL1404 GE (Nuovo Pignone) Horizontally Split Centrifugal Compressor
LP MR Compressor	MCL1405 GE (Nuovo Pignone) Horizontally Split Centrifugal Compressor
HP MR Compressor	BCL806 GE (Nuovo Pignone) Radially Split Centrifugal Compressor
Starter/Helper Motor	GE Power 24MW Synchronous Motor with VSDS
Power Generation	8 x Siemens SGT800-PG Gas Turbine Generators

Refrigeration Train Configuration

Key Facts

Yamal LNG was a joint venture between NOVATEK (80%) and Total S.A. (20%). In September 2013, CNPC acquired 20% shares from Novatek. In March 2016, Novatek sold another 9.9% stake to the Chinese Government owned Silk Road Fund (SRF) for $1.2 billion. In December of the previous year SRF had given Novatek a 15-year, EUR 730 million loan to finance the Arctic LNG project.^1,2
Yamal LNG is the first LNG plant to be built above the Arctic Circle, covering an area of 180 hectares that is equivalent to 250 soccer fields. The plant facilities include a gas treating unit, four storage tanks of 140,00m³ tonnes each, four condensate tanks, port infrastructure and even an airport.³
The Yamal LNG Field Development Program aims to tap over 200 directional wells from 19 well pads, using ARKTIKA Drilling Rigs. These rigs are custom built with a winterized design to withstand the extreme climatic conditions in the Yamal Peninsula.⁴
In March 2017, Yamal LNG introduced the world’s first Ice-breaker LNG carrier. The 300 metres long, 172,600 m³ capacity ARC7 Class vessel, can operate in temperatures as low as -52°C and cut through ice up to 2.1 metres thick. The 6 diesel-electric hybrid engines generate 45MW of thrust, the most ever on an LNG vessel. On open waters the ship can reach speeds up to 19.5 knots, while in 1.5 meter thick ice it sails astern at a pace of 5 knots. South Korean shipbuilder – Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME) has been tasked with building 16 LNG carriers for Yamal LNG in a deal worth $4.8 billion. ^5,6
The permafrost terrain at Yamal necessitated innovative construction design. The 2 meter thick, active layer at the top thaws in summer and forms an unstable mud. Hence, the foundations of the plant was laid much deeper into the permanent ice and the equipment was raised on piles of varying diameters above the active layer. The design for the three liquefaction trains employs a total of 65,000 piles, including 38,000 primary piles driven 10-20 meters deep into the icy surface.⁷
28,000 thermosyphon systems are engaged to refreeze the permafrost, which may thaw on account of boring, installation of pipes or plant operation. The system maintains a temperature under -4 °C at the primary foundation, using the principle of passive heat exchange, based on natural convection, which circulates a fluid without the necessity of a mechanical pump.⁷
Siemens designed and delivered the world’s largest (90m x 36m) and heaviest (2,500 MT) single lift E-House module for electrical power distribution at Yamal.⁸
The extremely low ambient temperatures during winters threatened that parts that were idle during shutdown would cool down before the depressurization is initiated. The easier and more expensive option was to use stainless steel throughout the plant. The design team reduced cost burden by using thermal insulation, or heat tracing wherever possible. They did this by comparing time to initiate depressurization with the minimum initialization temperature (MIT) and the time to reach the MIT for each depressurisation system.⁹
The foundation of the flare stacks at Yamal are built into the permafrost. During flaring, there is significant risk of ground temperature rising above zero degree Celsius, which could result in destabilization of the flare foundation. The plant designers employed an insulation layer to mitigate heat transfer from flare radiation along with thermosyphon systems to expend the heat from the ground.⁹
Yamal LNG is the first to apply APCI’s 50% Parallel AP-C3MR™ liquefaction process, consisting of two identical 50% strings. In this configuration, the compression stages are split and arranged in 2 parallel configurations, instead of a series arrangement. In the event of loss of any single driver, the LNG production does not drop to 0%, rather remains closer to 50%. However, this configuration is potentially more complicated from a rotordynamic and operational standpoint. Several dynamic simulations were performed by APCI and GE Oil & Gas to select the suitable hardware and software requirements for this configuration.⁹
In 2011, construction of a large-capacity regional transportation hub was initiated, to facilitate the transportation of equipment and staff, as there were no access routes to the site by land or sea. The infrastructure includes the port of Sabetta, two LNG offloading jetties, a 6-berth equipment offloading facilty and an international airport with a 2.7 km runway.^10,11
The Northern Sea Route via the Bering Strait reduces the distance between Hamburg and Yokohama to 6920 nautical miles or 15 days, as compared to the long haul via Suez Canal, which is 11,073 nautical miles and double the time.¹²
22,300 personnel delivered 130 million man-hours at the site during construction, while 35,000 personnel were mobilized for 194 million man-hours at the yards.¹³
Yamal LNG is the world’s largest modularized LNG project of its time. A total of 142 modules were fabricated at 10 yards in China, Indonesia and Philippines. The modules, together weighing in excess of 500,000 tonnes, were dispatched within 24 to 36 months of awarding contract. A total of 55 shipments were undertaken for the delivery of the modules, which represents the largest fleet mobilization of heavy transportation vessels for a project.^14,15,16
The Arctic Circle is dark and sunless for four months in the year, experiencing a phenomenon called the polar night. Yamal LNG maintained timely schedules amidst such adverse conditions by initiating commissioning activities in parallel with construction.¹⁷
Cofimco manufactured 600 axial fans for GEA Batignolles Technologies Thermiques (GEA BTT). The fans, destined for Yamal LNG project, were specially equipped to work at temperatures less than -50°C.¹⁸