The Teesside Flexible Regas Port
The Teesside Flexible Regas Port (TFRP) is a cost-efficient approach to the importation of LNG that significantly reduces overall infrastructure requirements and site footprint relative to traditional floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) or land-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.
During the operation of the project, LNG will be offloaded from arriving LNG carriers, and then subsequently pressurised and vaporised within an onshore regasification system. Once vaporised, the resultant natural gas will be transported via pipeline into the UK’s National Transmission System (NTS). Effectively, the LNG carrier delivering a cargo will serve as its own floating storage while discharging LNG thereby reducing the amount of onshore storage required for the project. This leads to a direct reduction in both the overall costs and time to bring the project to market.
With a dedicated marine jetty, the project is designed to accommodate a broad range of LNG carrier sizes providing access to the majority of the global LNG shipping fleet. In addition, the project can blend regasified natural gas with existing North Sea processed gas flows as well as directly inject nitrogen (nitrogen ballasting). This blending and ballasting process helps ensure the regasified LNG from the project will meet NTS gas quality specifications thereby allowing delivery of LNG from a wide variety of LNG sources in the world. This unique ability to both blend with existing gas flows and stabilise with nitrogen supports the broader global LNG market access to the project while maintaining a low overall capital cost.
The main physical components comprising the TFRP are:
- a marine jetty with mooring facilities;
- two marine loading arms, connecting cryogenic pipe and natural gas vapour line;
- small-scale onshore buffer LNG storage tanks;
- an onshore LNG regasification system with requisite control room, fiscal metering, and related equipment; and
- a gas export pipeline to deliver natural gas from the project into the NTS.
LNG is considered a relatively safe and benign substance within the industry as unlike other fuels it is neither flammable nor toxic. The only potential risk is the extremely cold temperature at which it is required to be stored at.
As the use and regasification of LNG is a highly mature and well-understood process, in the first instance these risks are mitigated through the application of robust regulatory and design standards during the development process, with additional mitigation achieved by the use of stringent operating practices based on decades of experience.
Teesside Flexible Regas Port Limited
Teesside Flexible Regas Port Limited is a dedicated project company formed and managed by WaveCrest Energy, LLC to advance the project. WaveCrest Energy is a global LNG company that was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Capital (a division of Macquarie Group Limited) to develop, construct, own, and operate LNG regasification, power, and related downstream infrastructure assets. WaveCrest delivers end-to-end project solutions, leveraging its significant development and technical experience and Macquarie Capital’s structuring and financing capabilities, to successfully execute projects worldwide.
The WaveCrest team has an established track record of bringing LNG and related energy projects from concept to operation in varying geographies and environments. The expertise of WaveCrest personnel spans all aspects of project development including contracting, design, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operations.
WaveCrest personnel have developed, constructed, and operated 16 unique LNG regasification projects around the world. Most recently, WaveCrest worked with Deutsche ReGas to help deliver the FSRU project in Lubmin, Germany from the conceptual phase in September to first gas deliveries in January 2023, and is currently involved in a further expansion of the project.