South Hook LNG Terminal, United Kingdom

South Hook, part of Qatargas ll project, is a re-gasification terminal situated at Milford Haven in South West Wales, UK. South Hook LNG Company was formed to facilitate development and operation of the LNG terminal and re-gasification plant. The company is owned by Qatar Petroleum with a 67.5% stake, while ExxonMobil and Total have 24.15% and 8.35% interest, respectively.

The terminal is currently under construction. It will facilitate import and re-gasification of LNG for further delivery to UK. The terminal will have the capacity to process 15.6mtpa of LNG and would provide 21 billion cubic metres of gas every year to the National Transmission System, catering to 20% of total UK natural gas demand.

The terminal capacity is owned by South Hook Gas, a joint venture of Qatar Petroleum Gas Trading (70%) and ExxonMobil Qatargas II.

LNG is being carried by Tembek, a commissioning cargo carrier, which arrived in March 2009 and started the unloading and commissioning process at the terminal. The largest LNG vessel Mozah arrived at the terminal in May 2009.

The terminal will have substantial positive impact on local employment prospects and has potential to contribute around £1bn to the local economy.

South Hook LNG terminal construction and infrastructure

The South Hook terminal is to be constructed in two phases. The first phase began operations in October 2009 and has a processing capacity of 10.5 billion cubic metres. It also includes a single berth to unload LNG tankers in the range of 125,000m to 267,000m, and three storage tankers with capacities of 155,000m³ each.

A total of 15 submerged combustion vaporisers (SCV) are required to be installed in both phases. Eight SCVs were installed in phase one and the rest will be installed in phase two to assist a daily redelivery capacity equal to 7.8mtpa of LNG for each phase.

Phase two is in its final stage of commissioning and is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2010. It involves increasing the regasification capacity and send-out capacity, and renovation of the second loading berth over the existing jetty. It also includes the addition of two LNG storage tanks with a capacity of 155,000m³ and expansion of related facilities.

The terminal has a jetty to facilitate the docking of large tankers and five tanks into which LNG will be pumped.

South Hook LNG terminal processing

LNG will be supplied to the terminal from Qatar's North Field gas reserves in the Arabian Gulf. The field has estimated reserves of 900 trillion cubic feet and is a non-associated gas field. The terminal will process 15.6mtpa of LNG produced by QatarGas II every year, and will be able to provide over two billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to UK consumers.

The LNG will be transported by a fleet of 14 ships, of which eight will use Q-Flex design with the capacity to carry around 210,000m³ of LNG. The remaining six ships will be designed based on Q-Max and will have a carrying capacity of 266,000m³ of LNG.

South Hook contracts

The lump-sum turnkey contract for phase one of a ship unloading system, three LNG storage tanks, and a regasification and send-out system was given to Chicago Bridge & Iron Company (CB&I) in 2004. The contract was valued in the range of $725m to $750m.

The EPC contract for the second phase of the project was also given to CB&I in October 2005. The contract was valued at $325m. Later, CB&I subcontracted Taylor Woodrow to provide prestressed concrete outer containment tanks.

A marine service contract for the terminal was awarded to Svitzer Marine in October 2009. Svitzer will commission and operate a fleet of five tugs. Further, the tugs will provide towage and escort services to the vessels supplying LNG to the terminal. The term of the contract is 20 years.