Air Products announced its commitment to provide its advanced main cryogenic heat exchanger (MCHE) technology for the PETRONAS LNG Complex located in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia.
The replacements are part of an extension program being implemented to extend the life and continue the superior performance and high reliability of the MLNG Dua LNG facility in Bintulu. This will be the second and third MCHE replacements provided by Air Products at this facility, after the original units completed almost three decades of reliable service. The first MCHE replacement was installed in June 2022 in-house by PETRONAS and successfully started up in the fall of 2022 and operating reliably ever since.
“We are very pleased to again supply PETRONAS with Air Products’ designed and manufactured LNG heat exchangers. Air Products is honored that our equipment’s reliability, performance, and longevity have led our valued customer to remain with our leading technology yet again. In doing so, we will continue to provide excellent customer service with advanced heat exchanger designs to deliver superior operational performance and reliability for decades to come,” said Dr. Samir J. Serhan, Air Products’ Chief Operating Officer.
Air Products’ contract supply to PETRONAS will consist of MCHE engineering and design, two units of two-bundle MCHEs, continued use of company’s proprietary AP-C3MRTM LNG process technology with associated process licenses, and technical advisory services. All engineering and design will be done in Air Products’ global corporate headquarters office in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the MCHEs manufacture will be executed at Air Products’ state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located on the west coast of Florida, less than a mile from the deep-water port at Port Manatee.
Air Products opened its world-class Port Manatee facility in January 2014 and completed a 60% expansion in October 2019, and in July 2023 announced a significant investment to increase winding capacity to meet the needs of the ever-growing LNG industry. In October 2018, a new LNG equipment test facility (ETF) was dedicated, which enables Air Products to continually improve the reliability and yield produced from its LNG equipment and to design new equipment.
Air Products’ proprietary LNG process technology and equipment, vital to helping meet the world’s increasing energy needs and desire for clean energy, processes, and cryogenically liquefies valuable natural gas for consumer and industrial use. For over 50 years Air Products has manufactured LNG heat exchangers, which currently operate in over 100 LNG trains in 20 countries around the world.
Typically, an LNG heat exchanger can be as large as over 15 feet (5 meters) in diameter and 180 feet (55 meters) long. A finished unit can weigh as much as 500 tons. Photos of Air Products’ LNG technology can be downloaded for publication with proper attribution at http://prphotolibrary.airproducts.com/ImageViewer.aspx?q=LNG.
Air Products’ LNG process technology and equipment is the heart of an LNG production plant. The technology, in place at some of the most remote locations around the world, takes natural gas and unlocks its value by liquefying it and making it possible to ship it economically. Typically, the LNG is eventually re-gasified for energy uses.
The majority of total worldwide LNG is produced with Air Products’ technology. In support of the LNG industry, Air Products provides process technology and key equipment for the natural gas liquefaction process for large export plants, small and mid-sized LNG plants, floating LNG plants and LNG peak shavers. Upstream, Air Products provides both nitrogen and natural gas dehydration membrane systems for offshore platforms. Downstream, Air Products provides membrane nitrogen generators for LNG carriers and land-based membrane and cryogenic nitrogen systems for LNG import terminals and baseload LNG plants.