Siemens, Total Work on Cleaner LNG

Siemens Gas & Power and French major Total have agreed to work on concepts for green liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, the German engineering giant said June 11. The ultimate aim is to decarbonise liquefaction, an energy-intensive industrial process.

The studies are targeting key areas, such as reducing the environmental footprint of liquefaction facilities and the associated greenhouse gas emissions, plant reliability, maintainability, regulatory compliance, and development costs.

Concepts to be explored include the use of gas turbine- and electric-driven compression trains in conjunction with proven single-mixed refrigerant and double-mixed refrigerant technologies; selecting equipment that can minimise or eliminate process flaring; and developing techniques to improve the efficiency of onsite power generation facilities.

The studies are also exploring how to leverage digitalisation and automation platforms to optimise plant design and achieve seamless project execution. 

Siemens' CEO for the energy division Thorbjoern Fors said the goal of the partnering with Total was the lowest possible plant emissions profile and the highest degree of sustainability in LNG production.

Total is working on numerous liquefaction projects, including several in Russia's far north: climate change is at the top of its agenda, as even in that freezing region there have been alarming signs of melting.