Offshore Europe/Converting tankers to gas processing plant

A consortium of Liquid Gas Equipment Ltd., Ben Line Steamers Ltd., and Edinburgh Financial and General Holdings Ltd., all of Edinburgh, has applied to the Orkney Islands Council for permission to develop an offshore gas plant by putting gas fractionation equipment on two VLCC's and setting the plant on the seabed at Flotta, Orkney. The plant, which would have a processing potential of 2 million tons/yr of gas for an investment of $100 million, would recover $400 million/yr of natural gas liquids. A previous study showed that it was technically and economically feasible to recover excess associated gas offshore through liquefaction and storage at floating or surface-mounted offshore terminals. The feedstock would come mainly from the Occidental Petroleum oil terminal at Flotta; from other pipeline terminals, such as Sullom Voe and Shetland; and from natural gas liquids which would otherwise be flared from North Sea installations.