By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Sept. 19 -- EnerSea Transport LLC, Houston, said Wednesday it plans to commercialize its Votrans compressed natural gas (CNG) marine transport technology.
It said the technology provides the capability of moving up to 2 bcf of CNG/ship over distances up to 4,000 miles at significantly lower total costs than liquefied natural gas (LNG).
It said Volume Optimized Transport and Storage (Votrans) "is a virtual sea-going pipeline comprised of long, large-diameter pipes contained within an insulated structure integrated onto a ship. Votrans improves on previous CNG concepts by combining optimal storage efficiency, the ability to transport both lean and rich gas, an innovative offloading process, and significantly lower (40%) compression requirements to increase vessel capacities and reduce costs."
Enersea said independent engineering, naval architecture, and economic analyses confirm technical viability and indicate the system could sell gas into US markets for less than $3/Mcf, vs. $3.50 for LNG.
It claimed capital costs for Votrans are less than LNG; terminal facilities make up less than 15% of total capital cost vs. more than 60% for LNG; and processing and transportation losses are less than 7%, vs. up to 20% for LNG.
Paul Britton, EnerSea managing director, said, "Votrans could provide a domestic alternative by delivering Alaskan or deepwater Gulf of Mexico gas more cheaply than proposed pipelines. Because Votrans is effectively a portable pipeline, it can also competitively deliver stranded gas reserves to worldwide markets."