Siemens' High-pressure, Micro-scale, Turnkey LNGo Solution Commences Operation in British Columbia, Canada

Siemens' Dresser-Rand business recently commissioned an LNGo-HP (high-pressure) micro-scale natural gas liquefaction system for Altagas Ltd. in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada. The modular, expandable LNGo technology enables efficient installation, especially in a demanding environment like Dawson Creek. The Dawson Creek facility, with a capacity of approximately 30,000 gallons of LNG per day, commenced production on January 25, 2018.

The scalability of the LNGo system enables the customer, Altagas, to scale production in line with demand and minimize capital expenditures. The LNGo-HP system allows consumers to convert from diesel and other fuels to natural gas which provides the benefit of a smaller carbon footprint, lower operational cost, and market price stability.

Siemens’ scope of supply included one LNGo-HP system, site civil works, building construction, mechanical and electrical integration, commissioning, startup, and operator training. The LNGo system consists of modules which include two Siemens gas engines, two Dresser-Rand MOS reciprocating compressors, three Siemens MV motors, Siemens variable frequency drives, and associated auxiliaries. The plant, with a footprint of approximately 2,500 square meters, was deployed directly at the site.

"This project demonstrates our unique capability to deliver a complete solution,” said Michael Walhof, Sales Director for Distributed LNG Solutions for the Dresser-Rand business. "We take pipeline natural gas and separate it into a feed gas stream and a waste gas stream. The waste gas is used to fuel the Siemens gas engine generator sets which power the LNGo-HP equipment. The feed gas is liquefied in the process to produce LNG."

The LNGo technology makes it possible to monetize stranded gas deposits due to its relatively low capital and operating costs. The micro-scale LNGo solution can be deployed in rough terrain or remote regions, eliminating the need to establish an expensive gas pipeline infrastructure or arrange for long-distance trucking of LNG from centralized plants to point of use. It can function as a decentralized solution where the requisite pipeline infrastructure is lacking, or as an onsite solution to reduce or eliminate flaring of petroleum gas at, for example, oil rigs or producing gas fields.

“This project represents another successful commercial installation for our LNGo systems,” said Rainer Theisen, Vice President for Integrated Solutions for Siemens. “It’s an economic solution for connecting stranded and disconnected gas supplies to remote consumers via a virtual pipeline,” Theisen added.

In 2016 the Dresser-Rand business commissioned its first LNGo-LP (low-pressure) micro-scale natural gas liquefaction system at the Ten Man LNG facility in Pennsylvania, U.S. Here, the LNGo technology enables the operator, Frontier Natural Resources, to monetize stranded gas assets at Tenaska Resources LLC's Mainesburg field, located in the Marcellus shale natural gas field.