The South Hook LNG Terminal is a receiving and regasification Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project located in Wales in the UK.
The $1bn terminal is a part of QatarGas II, the world’s first fully integrated value chain venture. The terminal is operated by the South Hook LNG Terminal Company.
Recommended White Papers
The South Hook LNG Terminal Company is a joint venture of QatarEnergy (67.5%), ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Terminal Company (24.15%), and TotalEnergies ELF Petroleum UK (8.35%).
Being one of the largest LNG terminals in Europe, the construction of the project commenced in 2008 followed by the startup of the full operations in 2010 when the commissioning cargo arrived on Tembek, a Q-Flex class LNG carrier.
A UK joint venture of Qatar Petroleum (70%) and ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Trading Company (30%), South Hook Gas Company, signed a Terminal Capacity Agreement under which it purchased 100% of the primary capacity at the terminal.
The project is meeting up the 20% daily natural gas needs of the UK after commencing successful operations.
South Hook LNG Terminal Location Details
The South Hook LNG Terminal is located at Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire in the UK. The project is built on the site of the former ESSO refinery.
South Hook LNG Terminal Details
The South Hook LNG Terminal receives gas from Qatar’s North Field which is liquefied at the QatarGas II facility consisting of two liquefaction trains each with a capacity of 7.8mtpa.
A fleet of 14 ships is also a part of the project. Eight of these ships are using Q-Flex design carrying approximately 210,000m3 of LNG and the rest are using Q-Max design carrying approximately 266,000m3 of LNG. The ships are equipped with on-board re-liquefaction facilities.
The terminal has five full containment 155,000m3 storage tanks with a storage capacity of 775,000m3 of LNG.
The total terminal processing capacity of the project is 15.6mtpa equivalent to about 21 billion cubic metres (bcm) per annum of gas injected into the National Transmission System.
South Hook LNG Incremental Capacity Project
In 2019, the partners committed to building a new $10bn LNG production facility (Golden Pass) to increase the capability of the South Hook LNG Terminal.
The LNG from the Golden Pass is warmed up and converted into gas by the terminal. It is supplied into the National Transmission System of the UK via a high-pressure gas pipeline system owned and operated by the National Grid Gas.
The incremental capacity project commenced operations in the mid-2020s.
Contractors Involved
The Engineering Production and Construction (EPC) contract of the South Hook LNG Terminal was awarded to McDermott.
The EPC contract of the first phase of the project included refurbishment of an existing jetty, a ship unloading system, a regasification system, three full-containment 155,000m3 LNG storage tanks, and a send-out system.
The scope of the contract for the second phase of the project included doubling the regasification and send-out facilities, refurbishment of a second loading berth on the existing jetty, expansion of the facilities, and two 155,000m3 full-containment LNG storage tanks.
On a lump-sum turnkey basis, the EPC for the ship unloading system, LNG storage tanks, regasification facilities, and send-out systems was conducted successfully by CB&I.
Ledwood Mechanical Engineering was selected as the main construction contractor by the operator of the project for incremental capacity.
It was a 12-month contract involving the installation, connection, and completion of a Submerged Combustion Vaporiser (SCV), piping, and steel engineering.
Bowercross Construction completed the five pre-stressed concrete containment tanks for the LNG of the project.
More than 2,000m (2km) long jetty for the project was constructed by BESIX.
In March 2005, Yokogawa Europe was selected by the operator of the project to provide a full ICSS automation control system.
The system consisted of CENTUM CS 3000 (a distributed control system), Prosafe-RS (a safety instrumented system), Exaquantum (a plant information management system), and an operator training system based on visual modeler dynamic simulation software.
In 2008, Kent provided supervisors, completions, and commissioning engineers, database engineers, and technicians to upgrade and refurbish the existing jetty, LNG storage tanks, SCVs, and pipeline expansion of the project.
Tectoniks designed, constructed, and installed a 35m diameter inflatable dome for the inauguration ceremony of the terminal in 2009.
The contract for the remedial works for the gas export pipeline at the terminal was awarded by AMEC to Port Engineering.
The scope of the contract included modification of sleepers and piers, inspection of the line, and elimination of corrosion and wear of the line.
