what is Liquefaction
When natural gas is liquefied, its volume is reduced by 600 times, enabling it to be transported more economically over long distances. We extract the gas, liquefy it, and then transport the LNG via ISO containers to our customers through the virtual pipeline.
The gas gathering network transports the natural gas from the wells to the plant through booster stations. The natural gas is rich in helium and nitrogen and contains moisture, carbon dioxide and other contaminants.
At the process plant, the gas is compressed before going through a pre-treatment process, where all impurities, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) and moisture, are removed before flowing into the cryogenic equipment. In the first cryogenic process, compressors are employed to circulate mixed refrigerant, where methane is liquefied to -162°C (112K) and separated as the first product, LNG. Then, the remaining gas, mainly containing nitrogen and helium, goes through a series of condensing, utilising numerous turbines, and separating processes to produce the second product, liquefied helium (LHe), at -269°C (4.2K).
Now in liquid form, the LNG and LHe are stored in large, insulated storage tanks at our Virginia Gas Plant, where they are to be dispensed into cryogenic Iso Containers and transported to our customers via a virtual pipeline.