The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved a novel LNG terminal and related facilities proposed by subsidiaries of Occidental Petroleum Corp. The design couples the terminal with a chemical plant, providing energy savings for both.
Ingleside Energy Center would be built on Corpus Christi Bay near Ingleside, Texas, next to an existing Occidental Chemical Corp. plant. FERC gave its approval on July 21.
The liquefied natural gas terminal will have the capacity to send out up to a billion cubic feet of gas daily, with the energy for regasifying the LNG coming from the waste heat of the chemical plant. That will save 16 million cubic feet of gas that would otherwise be burned in standard regasification.
The chemical plant, meanwhile, can use ‘waste cold’ from the LNG to save 2 million gallons of water now used each day in the cooling system.
In addition, a recovery unit for natural gas liquids will be included in the complex, so the chemical plant will be able to get some of its feedstock from the LNG.
That helps two ways. If the high-BTU liquids aren’t pulled out of the natural gas stream, it can be too potent for normal utility lines, and so nitrogen or another diluting gas has to be added.
As part of the proposal, San Patricio Pipeline will build and operate a 26-inch gas line that will run 26 miles to connect to major interstate trunk lines.
Occidental already owns the site where the terminal will be built. The total project is expected to cost about $450 million.
—Allen Baker
