Darwin LNG Pty Ltd
About LNG
LNG is produced by cooling natural gas to minus 260 degrees F at which point it liquefies. It is odourless, colourless, non-corrosive, non-combustible, non-toxic and clean. If released to the environment it will quickly return to its gaseous state and rise under normal atmospheric conditions. If LNG is spilled onto the ground or on water, it vaporises quickly, leaving no polluting residue.
LNG is Safe
LNG is not stored under pressure so any release of LNG will not cause an explosion as other petroleum products might. In laboratory and open ocean tests, there are no documented cases of LNG explosions, according to the U.S. Dept of Energy. In fact, when LNG tankers were hit in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), they did not explode. LNG tankers “have been run aground, experienced loss of containment, suffered weather damage, been subjected to low temperature embrittlement from cargo spillage, suffered engine room fires, and been involved in serious collisions with other vessels – no cargo explosions reported.” (U.S. Dept of Energy). For a video demonstration about the properties of LNG, click here.
If leaked into the atmosphere, LNG can’t explode as other petroleum products might. If the vaporising LNG did ignite, the cloud formation would rapidly burn off into the atmosphere. If LNG were accidentally released into the atmosphere, it would not cause any consequential ecological damage or pollution.
LNG Has An Impressive Safety History
Stringent operational and safety regulations govern the transport and storage of LNG. In the 60-year history of the LNG industry, only eight serious accidents have been recorded. Most of the eight accidents would be difficult to replicate now because the technology for transporting and storing LNG has improved dramatically over the past 30 years as have federal and state industrial safety regulations and standards.
Japan’s LNG experience offers an excellent case study because it imports nearly all of its natural gas. According to the University of Houston Law Center Institute for Energy, Law & Enterprise, LNG carriers have made 40,000 voyages covering 60 million miles and have not reported any significant accidents or safety problems in port or while at sea. On average an LNG ship enters Tokyo harbor every 20 hours safely and without incident.
Safety In Darwin
The Wickham Point terminal will incorporate numerous safeguards in the design, construction and operation of the facility and employ state-of-the-art technology. For instance, this project will use a double containment engineering design for the onshore tank. Double containment means that the LNG storage tank will be double-walled, meaning a tank inside a tank. The outer tank will be made of pre-stressed concrete. The inner tank is specially designed to hold the cold liquid and will consist of high alloy steels composed of nine percent nickel. The space between the tank shells is filled with insulation material. Double containment tanks are designed so that if the inner tank fails, the outer tank is capable of safely containing all of the LNG.
LNG carriers use a double-hull design for increased safety. This design provides protection in the event of a collision or grounding. The double hull consists of a steel outer hull, along with a second steel inner hull, forming a void space approximately 10 feet in depth. The double hull is used either for segregated ballast on return voyages or as a cofferdam (void) space. The LNG tanks are constructed of either stainless steel or aluminum. They are heavily insulated to protect the steel hull from cold and to maintain the LNG cargo at its low temperature (-260 degrees F). The area between the inner hull and the LNG tanks is protected with a nitrogen gas blanket, which is monitored for gas leakage so corrective action can be taken quickly.
Both LNG vessels and facilities have redundant safety systems. These systems shut down the operations completely when the vessel or facility is not performing correctly or when certain operations or equipment fail. The facility will also include high-tech gas detection systems to rapidly identify even the slightest breach in containment, as well as shut-off valves to immediately prevent leaks and spills in the improbable case of tank failure.