How is LNG used?
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is 600 times smaller in volume than in its gaseous state. It can thereby be transported by ship and send to other gas-consuming countries.
Tell me about LNG
An LNG terminal’s main function is to receive LNG, temporarily store it, regasify it and give it an odour. It is then sent out into the national gas transmission network.
Let’s look more closely at the LNG’s journey from the time of extraction to the time it arrives at our LNG carrier terminals.
From gaseous natural gas extraction to its transportation as a liquid
Natural gas is extracted from a source. It is mainly comprised of methane.
Once extracted, it is sent to a liquefaction plant. To make it liquid the gas undergoes cooling making it must easier to transport. Once liquefied, the gas is then loaded onto an LNG carrier to be transported by the sea.
Receiving and unloading LNG
Elengy’s LNG carrier terminals receive LNG arriving by LNG carriers. These dock and moor at our berths. The unloading arms located at the berths are connected to the LNG carriers in order to recover the LNG cargo.
The LNG is then transported from the berth to 3 cryogenic concrete tanks and stored in them for a few days.
Our LNG carrier terminals
Find out more about Elengy’s regulated LNG carrier terminals, a major entry point for ships transporting LNG to France and Europe.
The next two steps:
LNG regasification
LNG is then sent to high pressure pumps to be regasified. The LNG is pressurised to 80 bars.
Then it passes through heat exchangers where, with the help of water, it goes back to its gaseous state.
Odourisation
When the LNG being back in its initial state, i.e., gaseous, it is called natural gas. This natural gas passes through a odour giving unit giving it its characteristic odour.
Our priority
Safety
We ensure that all our sites are operated under optimal safety conditions by following an internationally recognised reference since 1998: the International Safety Rating System (ISRS8©). Today our three LNG carrier terminals meet level 7 of the ISRS8©, i.e. one of this reference’s highest levels.
And finally, the last step:
From our terminals to the transmission and distribution network
The natural gas, now gaseous and with an odour, can now be introduced into the national gas transmission network and then distributed to consumers.
For further information
What is LNG?
LNG is considered as a clean source of energy. The low quantities of CO2 that it releases makes it less polluting than other fossil fuels.