Slow but steady: Mid-scale trains become reality in large-scale liquefaction

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The start-up of Venture Global’s 10 mtpa Calcasieu Pass liquefaction project on the US Gulf Coast early this year was a technological milestone for the LNG industry: it is the world’s first large-scale project to employ mid-scale liquefaction trains rather than the conventional Air Products C3MR or ConocoPhillips Optimised Cascade processes.

More such projects are in the pipeline, though fewer than anticipated in 2019, when Calcasieu Pass was sanctioned. At the other end of the liquefaction spectrum are Qatar’s expansion projects, which will use Air Products’ AP-X process, for the first time since the first six Qatari mega-trains started up in 2009-2011. What is becoming clearer year by year is that, whatever liquefaction process is chosen, efforts to reduce carbon intensity are intensifying.