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EXCELERATE ENERGY www.excelerateenergy.com
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Excelerate Energy
Offshore assets Having earned a sound reputation for bringing liquid natural gas projects to fruition, Excelerate is now expanding internationally with projects in Europe, South America and Asia
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hen Excelerate Energy got its start in July 2003, company sponsor George Kaiser and his co-founders recognized a need for new ways of importing natural gas into the North American marketplace. At the time, demand was outstripping domestic supply, and the marketplace was not well equipped to import large quantities of the fuel, which is used for heating and cooling homes and businesses as well as powering electric generation plants and industrial facilities.
Bureau Veritas For many years, Bureau Veritas has played a leading role in the field of ocean gas transportation, with significant innovative steps typified for instance by its classification of the 138,000 cubic metre “Excelsior,” the first LNG vessel, part of the Excelerate Energy fleet, to be built complete with regasification plant and turret for offshore unloading. Regasification of LNG cargoes has traditionally been carried out at onshore plants, and this revolutionary design of vessel brought significant implications for the shipping industry. When Excelerate Energy was looking for a global technology and verification partner, it chose Bureau Veritas. It wanted a global outlook, a company which was receptive to new ideas and technology, and which had global credibility in the LNG field to certify its new ideas. This new regasification technology (LNG-RV) required all the expertise and technological innovation of both the operator, the shipbuilder and Bureau Veritas to see the project through to its successful conclusion. As key challenges, the vessel, which has an onboard vaporization unit, had to be able to withstand the forces that can typically occur while operating offshore in a partially filled condition. To this end, Bureau Veritas conducted extensive studies into the behavior of liquid gas in partially filled tanks, resulting in reinforcement of the vessel’s containment system and its hull structure. Since then seven other LNG-RV vessels were delivered to Excelerate Energy, the last one in 2010. All are classified by Bureau Veritas and the result of a long-standing partnership between the two companies. On the strength of this relationship, Bureau Veritas continues to deliver other specific services to Excelerate Energy, especially risk analysis (Hazid, Hazop, deck lay-out safety analysis) as part of new offshore LNG projects. Bureau Veritas is today a leading international service provider, dedicated to quality assurance, environmental, health and safety (QEHS) management services across a wide range of economic activities, including marine, offshore, industry and facilities, government services, and consumer products. By far the largest classification and certification society, Bureau Veritas has over 46,000 employees and 900 offices in over 140 countries throughout the world.
“Even with new liquefaction coming on line and new suppliers in the market, you’re going to continue to see LNG flowing to those places where the demand exists” America, as well as Asia. There is a lot of demand for LNG receiving capabilities, and our technology allows us to come in and—with a very minimal footprint compared to more traditional land-based facilities—do things more cost-effectively and often more rapidly.” Excelerate gained additional access to markets in Europe and elsewhere in February 2008, when Kaiser sold part of his stake in the operation to Germany-based utility RWE.
Although LNG is not particularly hazardous or dangerous cargo, siting onshore facilities can be a challenge because of safety concerns. “It tends to be a lightning rod for public concern, and being able to locate offshore facilities on a permanent or semi-permanent basis is a palatable alternative for a lot of people.” In addition to buying and selling LNG on the spot market and through longer-term supply
Excelerate Energy
Excelerate Energy Emco Wheaton For the unloading of natural gas under high pressure, Emco Wheaton has developed a marine loading arm that is capable of meeting the specific requirements that are imposed to equipment that handles hazardous materials at elevated pressure ranges. Compressed natural gas will be discharged from a re-gasification vessel at pressures between 50 and 150 bar. The loading arm is featured with latest technology safety systems, and in addition to that carries a safe shutdown and disconnecting system that safeguards a release of the loading arm from the vessel in case of any emergency. With the development of the high pressure marine loading arm, Emco Wheaton has proven once again to be a reliable partner when highly customer specific solutions in the loading arm business are needed.
contracts, Excelerate also provides storage and regas services and also charters its own vessels to third parties. Doing so enables the company to keep its assets in use as much as possible, which in turn allows it to keep its costs lower. Excelerate is also one of several companies close to bringing to market technology that will equip ships with the ability to liquefy natural gas for transportation, which could create new markets for stranded gas reserves that could be sold to markets where demand is running higher. Excelerate continues to work with Exmar on such ship-based advances, with Exmar serving as technical managers and owners of the vessels and Excelerate operating them and owning an equity stake in partnership with Exmar. Even with the global economy in slowdown mode, the demand for LNG is continuing to
Excelerate Energy
GAC Kuwait Established in 1956, GAC Kuwait is one of the leading logistics, shipping and marine service providers in Kuwait today. GAC has built an established track record in delivering project logistics solutions. Clients such as Excelerate Energy count on its expertise, resources and experience to handle even the most challenging and unique of project cargoes. GAC Kuwait is part of the GAC Group.
grow, Cook says. Many newer power-generation facilities are capable of running on multiple fuels, and natural gas is considered cleaner and
more environmentally friendly than some other alternative fuel sources, such as coal. “There are significant supplies that are dislocated from the markets where the demand exists,” says Cook, “and irrelevant of price, there is a need to move the gas from the supply source to the market. What we’ve been seeing is that even with gas prices in the US at historic lows, the market is so large that it can absorb more supply. Even with new liquefaction coming on line and new suppliers in the market, you’re going to continue to see LNG flowing to those places where the demand exists. The marketplace knows we have the technology and the experience with bringing projects from idea to reality in a way that makes more projects feasible and economical.” www.excelerateenergy.com
EXCELERATE ENERGY www.excelerateenergy.com