LNG expertise meets changing market challenges

By Ray Scippa

During the COVID 19 pandemic, ConocoPhillips has been leveraging its LNG expertise by adding innovative products to its Optimized Cascade® process or OCP™ technology portfolio.  An oversupplied LNG market in 2020, exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic, allowed ConocoPhillips teams to accelerate the development of these new products, building upon and complementing a strong history of innovation.

“The LNG market is changing rapidly as LNG demand has grown significantly,” said LNG Technology & Licensing Manager Mike Culligan. “On the supply side, LNG facility developers are aggressively pursuing this growing demand by focusing on reducing capital cost and risk. In response, as an industry leader, ConocoPhillips has developed several new products and services.”

The Traditional OCP Configuration – OCP Pro™ Technology

ConocoPhillips is the LNG industry leader in utilizing high-efficiency aeroderivative gas turbine drivers, a core component of the Optimized Cascade process. The traditional OCP turbomachinery configuration, now called OCP Pro, matches one gas turbine driver to one refrigerant compression system. All existing OCP Pro LNG facilities are designed with two 50% refrigeration compressor trains in parallel serving one refrigeration process train. This configuration provides higher annual availability and greater turndown capability, while maintaining high thermal efficiency across a wide operating range. OCP Pro technology in a two-trains-in-one arrangement has a long history of industry-leading performance and will remain the configuration of choice for many developers of larger baseload trains. 

OCP Compass™ Technology

The latest OCP configuration – OCP Compass Technology reduces liquefaction equipment count and footprint to lower total installed cost and greatly simplify modularization. Like OCP Pro LNG facilities, OCP Compass facilities will deliver industry-leading process performance and low greenhouse gas emissions.

ConocoPhillips collaborated with Baker Hughes to develop the new OCP Compass turbomachinery configuration. The technology leverages advancements in large aeroderivative gas turbine technology, while utilizing Baker Hughes’ high-pressure ratio compressor technology to achieve enhanced process performance with less equipment.

“OCP Compass configurations are ideal for midscale (1-3 MTPA) LNG applications, in either single-string or two-trains-in-one configurations, to provide liquefaction capacity, for a competitive cost with greater availability and turndown,” said LNG Operations and Engineering Manager Filippo Meacci. “Multiple OCP Compass trains can be combined to address the capacity requirements of larger baseload facilities (>3 MTPA), while capturing lower costs through replication of smaller liquefaction trains.” 

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OCP CryoSep™ Technology and OCP Nitro™ Technology

The company has developed two new Optimized Cascade Process licensed products – OCP CryoSep Technology and OCP Nitro Technology. ConocoPhillips will license its heavies removal unit (HRU) technology, called OCP CryoSep, to provide targeted recovery of heavy hydrocarbons and remove components that would otherwise freeze in the liquefaction unit or lead to excessive LNG energy content. “We’re very pleased to report that OCP CryoSep technology has been licensed to a U.S. Gulf Coast client's LNG project that is under development, pending final investment decision,” said Mike Culligan. 

ConocoPhillips also will license its nitrogen removal unit (NRU) technology, called OCP Nitro, to efficiently remove nitrogen from the LNG process, achieve LNG product nitrogen specifications, and maximize LNG production.

OCP Nitro technology will be licensed as a bolt on solution to existing OCP trains processing feed streams with higher nitrogen content than their original compositions. The technology is currently under evaluation for multiple OCP licensed trains.

OCP Navigator™

In addition to these innovations, the company has developed a unique software solution called OCP Navigator to optimize LNG plant profitability, thermal efficiency, and production. A multi-functional software system operating on a proprietary Aspen Technology software platform, OCP Navigator utilizes a customized equation-oriented simulation to optimize the facility in real time. "OCP Navigator has the potential to significantly enhance the value of existing and future OCP LNG plant operations," said Filippo Meacci.

Emma Risinger

Megan Pantuliano

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