Marsa El Brega LNG Terminal
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Marsa El Brega LNG Terminal is an LNG terminal in Al Wahat District, Libya. The facility has not operated since 2011.
Location
The map below shows the facility, in Brega, Al Wahat District.
Project details
- Owner: Sirte Oil Company [100%][1]
- Parent company: Libya National Oil Corporation
- Location: Brega, Al Wahat, Libya
- Coordinates: 30.40675, 19.5935 (exact)
- Type: Export[1]
- Trains: 4[1]
- Capacity: 3.2 mtpa, 0.46 bcfd (0.80 mtpa per train)[1]
- Status: Mothballed[2]
- Start Year: 1970[1]
- Idle Year: 2011[2]
Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day
Background
The Marsa el Brega LNG Terminal consists of four natural gas liquefaction trains, with a total capacity of 3.2 million metric tons per year (mtpa), or 0.46 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd). It was built in 1970 by Esso (ExxonMobil), making it the third LNG export terminal to be built in the world, after the terminal in Arzew in Algeria and the Kenai LNG plant in Alaska.[3][4] It is owned by the Sirte Oil Company, a subsidiary of the National Oil Corporation, Libya's state-owned oil & gas company.[1][5] In the early 1980's, sanctions imposed on Libya crippled exports from the terminal and prevented the Libyan government from properly renovating the facility.[2][3] These sanctions ultimately led to the terminal's output declining to about about 15% of nameplate capacity, and to Esso's exit from the project.[2][3]
In 2005, following the end of sanctions, NOC reached a US$643 million agreement with Shell, part of which involved Shell working with NOC to renovate and revitalize the Marsa el Brega LNG terminal.[6][3] In 2010, Shell and NOC started looking for a construction contractor for the renovation project.[7] However, following the beginning of the Libyan civil war in 2011, Shell pulled out of the country in May 2011, and has not returned since.[8]
The Marsa El Brega facility has not exported any LNG since the start of the war in 2011. Additionally, since the terminal was built over 50 years ago, its equipment and infrastructure have reached the end of their design life and its old technology is not designed to current safety standards.[2][9][3][10] Similarly, its marine facilities are no longer suitable for modern large capacity LNG carriers.[10] Because of these technological challenges, the re-use of the equipment that no longer complies with current standards of the international LNG industry "is not recommended."
In 2017, a proposal was made to convert the Marsa El Brega facility to an LNG import/regasification terminal, as the site was deemed "viable as a suitable location for the new import terminal and the area is sufficient and already developed for key marine requirements (with modification)."[10] The proposal examined the possibility of building an onshore LNG terminal at the Marsa El Brega site, as well as an FSRU terminal.[10] Other sites in Libya were also examined as part of the proposal. However, since the proposal was published, there have been no further developments at the site, which as of 2018 had been severely damaged by the Libyan civil war.[10][3]
As of 2024, the Marsa El Brega facility remains mothballed.[11]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 معمل اسالة الغاز, Sirte Oil website, accessed June 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Libya Oil & Gas Report: Q2 2017, BMI Research, pp.38-40.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Marsa El Brega, Libya - Mechademy". www.mechademy.com. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ↑ Bosma, Nagelvoort, Paul, Rob Klein (January2009). "Liquefaction Technology: Developments through History". Proceedings of the 1st Annual Gas Processing Symposium. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Marsa El Brega LNG Terminal, A Barrel Full, accessed June 2017.
- ↑ Libya LNG: Rejuvenating Brega and Developing New LNG, Shell/NOC document, 2007.
- ↑ Libya puts hope for LNG exports on new finds, The National, 1 July 2010.
- ↑ Libya's NOC criticises Shell's record, 9 July 2012.
- ↑ Libya Has Resumed Oil Exports, But Will It Last?, OilPrice.com, 19 July 2014.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 The World Bank Group (19/12/2017). "LNG Import Options Study Report" (PDF). World Bank. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ GIIGNL (2024). "GIIGNL Annual Report 2024" (PDF). GIIGNL. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
