Liquefied natural gas terminal

A floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is an LNG terminal whose main structure is a special ship moored near a port.

As of January 2014 there are operating FSRUs in Brazil, Argentina, Kuwait, Israel, the UAE, Italy, Indonesia, China, Turkey and Lithuania.

[4] Terminal facilities include jetties and piers with articulated loading/unloading arms[5] for transferring LNG between ship and shore.

It also includes the piping used to transport LNG between the loading arms and the storage and processing facilities at the terminal.

[6] The loading/unloading arms and pipework are insulated to prevent heat gain from the air to minimise the vaporization of LNG.

Some of these piers are very long, up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m), in order to reach to the depth of water required to accommodate LNG tanker traffic.

This is surrounded by insulation to reduce heat gain and an outer tank of conventional steel or pre-stressed reinforced concrete.

[18] Prior to distribution into a high-pressure transmission system, the regasified natural gas is metered and dosed with a stenching or odorizing agent.

At times of low demand, gas may be withdrawn from a transmission system and liquefied and stored.