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Safety
OPTICAL GAS IMAGING IN LNG IMPORT TERMINALS Applying stationary OGI to monitor hazardous methane leaks at FSRU off -loading arms
View of the FSRU, two off-loading arms and connection into the grid.
LNG import terminals are one of the actions, taken by EU countries, to cope with the energy shortage that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the destruction of the Nordstrom pipeline. This sudden lack of natural gas supply brought about the urgent construction of LNG import terminals. There were 35 operational LNG import terminals in Europe as of January 2024, and 17 more planned or under construction. Of these, 23 are FSRU terminals (1). A Floating Storage Regasifi cation Unit (FSRU) is a fl oating vessel that can transport, store, and re- gasify liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) onboard.
Some of the import terminals use a leased FSRU ship as an intermediate solution until an onshore import terminal is built. Germany, Italy, and Greece are the countries leading the implementation of this solution.
The main onshore facilities of an import terminal are the off-loading arms and the control valve system regulating the high-pressure fl ow of gas from the FSRU into the grid. These are critical elements and detecting gas leaks in this sensitive area is very important. With the rising amount and capacity of FSRU’s in Europe, continuous safety solutions are needed to secure these facilities.
In a recently built LNG import terminal in Germany, using an FSRU, MetCam units were added to the safety envelope. The MetCam units were aimed at the pressure control valve array to enhance safety and reduce the response time in case of a leak.
The MetCam units are used in a unique way, implemented as volume gas detectors where they only connect with 24VDC and 4-20 mA. The Zone 1 certifi cation of MetCam allows this installation, since all the equipment on site must be HazLoc certifi ed.
The data from MetCam is self-contained and not required to be fed into any video stream or external computer system. The 4-20 warning alarm signals are produced on-board the
PIN OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2024
The off-loading arm extended to the FSRU. The valve and pressure regu- lation facility are seen at the base of the off-loading arms
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