As energy deficient countries con-tinue to seek environmentallyfriendly fuel sources to feed new

power generation, opportunities haveemerged to couple LNG import terminalswith the construction of new powerplants. A recent project in the DominicanRepublic provides a successful example ofthis strategic combination. The powerplant and the terminal, the first LNG facil-ities in the Dominican Republic, wereplanned in such a way that they could beoperated efficiently together, despite thefact that each was designed by a differentcompany. A number of innovative fea-tures were included in the design to opti-mize the integration. The LNG that is nowimported into the Dominican Republic foruse in the new power plant is also avail-able as a fuel source for older existingpower plants in this small islandCaribbean country. One of the country'solder plants has already been retooled tobe able to use natural gas as its fuel source,with other plants looking at the viability ofmaking this same alteration.

The Dominican Republic comprises theeastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, an islandlocated between the Caribbean Sea andthe North Atlantic Ocean just to the south-east of Cuba. A site for the LNG importterminal and power plant was selectedalong the shoreline, 30 km east of theDominican Republic's capital city of SantoDomingo. The sea is rough in this area,and the land is pelted with salt spray.Since the island sits atop a large coral reef,the shoreline is dominated by porouslimestone (see Figure 1). Over time, thesea and the spray have created numerouscavities in the limestone. The area is seis-mically active and located in the middle ofthe path many hurricanes follow as theymove through the Caribbean corridor.

These are the conditions that AES Cor-poration encountered when they initiatedthe AES Andres project in the DominicanRepublic. This project consisted of threecontracts: the power plant, the jetty, andthe LNG import terminal. AES selectedCB&I to deliver the LNG import terminalportion of this project on a lump-sum

LNG journal January/February 2004 page 20

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Figure 1: Aerial view of completed AES Andres LNG Import Terminal

The Dominican Republic LNG Import Terminal: Challenges in Engineering, Procurement and Construction

CB&I describe the engineering and construction of the AES Andres LNG import terminal in the Dominican Republic,and how they dealt with the challenges associated with the site, the integration with a new power plant,

and the need for cost savings.

Brian Eisentrout, Tim McKinney, Jeff Sipes, and Barbara Weber, CB&I, USA

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turnkey basis. The import terminal includ-ed a receiving system to unload the LNGfrom the ship, a storage tank with enoughcapacity to hold the entire cargo of a145,000 m3 LNG ship, a vapor handlingsystem, and a send-out system, all fullyintegrated with the associated power plant(see Figure 2). CB&I's work included proj-ect development support, process design,civil and structural design,detail engineering, materialsupply, fabrication, projectmanagement, construction,pre-commissioning, startupand operator training for theimport terminal.

CB&I faced numerouschallenges in both the designand the construction of thisfacility, including:

building an LNG facility on a location with harsh site conditions, subjected to frequent seismic events and also with high expo-sure to hurricane winds common in the Caribbeana design requirement to optimize the efficiency of the adjoining power plant through a unique system for thermal integration with the LNG terminal, anda need to balance capital expenditures against operating costs to make the terminal as capital efficient as possible

The terminal is designed forthe typical one-day LNGship unloading turnaround.The unloading time includ-ing LNG transfer arm cool-down and ship cargo pumpramp up and ramp downwill not exceed this one-dayallowance. These designchallenges were intensifiedby an aggressive scheduleaimed at expediting the com-pletion of the entire projectas quickly as possible to meetthe Dominican Republic'scritical need for power. Thisarticle describes the notableengineering, procurement,and construction challengesencountered in building thefirst LNG import terminal inthe Dominican Republic.

EngineeringChallenges

AES and CB&I worked close-ly together to develop adesign concept for the termi-nal that would not only becost-efficient to operatestand-alone, but would alsoprovide operational efficien-cies when used in conjunc-tion with the power plant. Site Conditions: The porouslimestone topography pre-sented a variety of challengesto the design of the importterminal and associated stor-age tank. A ringwall wasdesigned to provide a suit-

able foundation for the storage tank. Asthe preliminary excavation work for theringwall was being performed, it was dis-covered that the limestone in that areacontained solution cavities where the min-eral in the rock had leached out over time.Some of these cavities could not be avoid-ed and required remediation. To strength-en the limestone beneath the tank, bore-

holes were drilled into the limestoneunder the tank and under parts of theprocess area, and then the boreholes andany cavities encountered were pumpedfull of grout. Approximately 2,000 cubicyards (1600 m3) of grout was pumped intothe limestone beneath the tank throughthese holes.

The use of locally available materials for

construction of the earthen secondary con-tainment structure was convenient; how-ever, these materials required stabilizationwhen used in the earthen dike (see Figure1). To improve the soil's structural proper-ties and reduce its permeability, the soil inthe outer five feet of the dike was mixedwith cement and compacted to form soilcement. Both the walls and the bottom of

LNGjournal

LNG journal January/February 2004 page 21

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the containment structure were construct-ed of this soil/cement mixture. Addition-ally, a concrete revetment mat was con-structed over the ocean-side surface of thedike to protect the dike from wave-actiondamage during severe storms.

Seismic studies of the site were con-ducted and analyzed to ascertain specificdata about the location. This data wasused to determine the requirements forbuilding structures that might experiencean earthquake of the magnitude and dura-tion that could occur at the site. U.S. engi-neering codes were followed to develop astructural design for the storage tank that

would withstand a horizontal peakground acceleration of 0.857g (Safe Shut-down Earthquake -SSE horizontal asdefined by NFPA 59A 1996) as well as 150mile an hour wind gusts.Thermal Integration: The desire to opti-mize the efficiency of the power plantthrough a thermal system integrated withthe terminal presented yet another set ofchallenges. A heat transfer system, usinga water/glycol heat transfer fluid, facilitat-ed the use of waste heat and turbine com-bustion air as a heat source for vaporiza-tion. On the terminal end, the warmwater/glycol mixture was designed to

vaporize and superheat the LNG from aliquid at -260 °F (-162 °C) to a vapor at 40°F (4 °C). During this process of vaporiz-ing and heating, the water/glycol iscooled and then sent to the power plant,providing cooling for the utilities andcooling for the inlet air for the gas turbine,both of which make the power plant oper-ate more efficiently. The heatedwater/glycol is returned to the terminal.This closed-loop cycle is then repeated.While the power plant is operating, thetemperature of the water/glycol sent tothe power plant is maintained by an inte-grated control system. Both the LNG ter-minal and the power plant are responsiblefor maintaining this temperature as wellas the heat balance. Common pumpslocated in the import terminal area circu-late the water/glycol to the power plantand back to the import terminal. No addi-tional water/glycol pumps are required inthe power plant to circulate the mixture.This design improves the operating effi-ciency and the output capacity of the plantwith no additional capital investment.

A heat exchanger in the water/glycolloop uses seawater as a back-up heatingsystem for vaporization so natural gassend-out may occur when the power plantis not operating. The power plant coolingwater pumps provide the seawater to theimport terminal so a separate import ter-minal seawater intake is not required.LNG Reception, Storage and Send-Out:The terminal was designed to unload aship at a rate of 10,500 m3 per hour. In thiscase, three unloading arms provide the

necessary capacity. As the LNG isunloaded into the storage tank, someresidual vapor is released. The vapor loadmay be handled in several different waysdepending on the options available to theimport terminal at the time of ship unload-ing. Conventional non-cryogenic blowersand compressors handle this vapor loadby returning vapor to the ship and send-ing it to the recondenser. Vapor may alsobe flared on an emergency basis.

The unloaded LNG is sent to a double-wall, steel, flat-bottom tank (see Figure 3).The storage tank design capacity is 160,000m3, allowing the entire capacity of a145,000 m3 LNG tanker to be unloadedwhile maintaining adequate inventory toallow for shipping schedule variations.The outer tank is carbon steel, the innertank that holds the LNG is 9%-nickel steel,and the suspended deck is aluminum.Insulation on the internal suspended deckand in the annular space between theinner and outer tank walls is expandedperlite. The load bearing bottom insula-tion is cellular glass.

In many LNG import terminals, thevapor handling system compresses theboil-off and unloading vapor to the linepressure of the pipeline. In contrast, thevapor handling system designed for thisproject was made more economical tooperate by using efficient pump energyinstead of gas compression to do themajority of the work in handling the boil-off and unloading vapor. The vapor han-dling system compresses the boil-off andexcess ship unloading vapor and sends it

RECEPTION

LNG journal January/February 2004 page 22

Figure 2 Schematic for the LNG Import Terminal

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to the recondenser, operating at low pres-sure. The LNG flowing through the recon-denser condenses the vapor, which thenbecomes liquid and is added to the send-out volume. Second stage pumps are usedto increase the pressure of the liquid topipeline pressure. The liquid then goesthrough a vaporizer, where it is warmedto 40°F and sent into the pipeline. Thisdesign, using a recondenser, reduces bothcapital and operating costs by minimizingthe size of the compression equipment, asthe vapor is compressed only to recon-denser pressure, which is a small fractionof pipeline pressure.

Procurement ChallengesProcurement also presented significantchallenges. Materials and equipmentwere purchased from over 15 differentcountries. The international effort of iden-tifying qualified suppliers, monitoringtheir progress, inspecting the suppliers'finished products, and ensuring on-timedelivery to the jobsite required a diverseproject team with worldwide coverage.The logistics of coordinating shippingthrough various U.S. ports for consolida-tion with materials shipped direct to theDominican Republic challenged the mostexperienced managers.

Construction ChallengesThe construction of the LNG import termi-nal presented its own set of unique chal-lenges. Most of these were driven by theaccelerated project schedule created toaddress critical power shortages in theDominican Republic. AES wanted theimport terminal completed and opera-tional in 26 months to meet this need.Construction was completed in a record 24months, beating this deadline.

AES worked with CB&I to develop aconstruction schedule that would bring upthe facility in phases. The first phasebegan when AES granted CB&I earlyrelease of the engineering. This allowedCB&I to do all the preliminary work inpreparation for the construction startupwhile AES was still securing the necessarypermits. As a result, once all the permitswere received and AES gave CB&I theNotice to Proceed, CB&I was able to mobi-lize and begin construction within oneweek, with subcontractors hired and onlocation. Purchase orders were estab-lished and long-lead items could beordered quickly. Foundation and site

engineering had been completed, and tankmaterials could be ordered. The earlyrelease of engineering shaved three to fourmonths from the construction schedule.

The scope of the project grew duringthe construction process. One of the firstmodifications to the project involved arequest to complete the send-out systemso that it could be used stand-alone, if nec-essary, while the storage tank was beingbuilt. According to the original schedule,the power plant would be operationalbefore the storage tank was completed.The intent of the modification was to sendLNG directly to the power plant from aship without waiting for the completion ofthe storage tank. The send-out systemwas built first and connected directly tothe receiving system. LNG could then beunloaded from the ship at a low flow rateand sent directly through the send-outsystem to the plant. While not cost-effec-tive for normal operations since the timerequired for the ship to remain at the facil-ity was greatly increased, this design pro-vided flexibility for the import terminaloperators during the construction process.Although subsequent construction delayswith the power plant rendered it unneces-sary to use the send-out system stand-alone, it was successfully built with thecapability to be operated in this manner.

Other modifications that were added tothe scope of the work involved the civilwork at the site. CB&I was up and run-ning on location so quickly that it madesense for them to handle much of the workthat was originally included in anotherpart of the project, including the buildingof roads, drainage systems, and site reme-diation. They were able to subcontractand oversee this work and complete italong with the import terminal.

Because of its long history of construct-ing facilities in the Dominican Republic,CB&I was able to hire and train the con-struction crew in an expedited timeframe.The construction crew was predominantlystaffed with labor resources from theDominican Republic. Including subcon-tractors, about 90% of the constructioncrew members were Dominican Republicnationals (exceeding the local laborrequirement). Of the CB&I employees onthe crew, at least half were nationals,many of whom had worked for CB&I onother projects in the Dominican Republic.This experience greatly reduced theamount of training time required andfacilitated the fast-track construction pace.CB&I was able to select skilled supervisorsfrom their extensive labor pool in neigh-boring Central and South America, as wellas the Caribbean. These individualsplayed key roles in field supervision andcreated a team of talented professionalswho were adept at handling local, as wellas global, construction problems. Thisapproach not only helped shorten theproject schedule, but it also helped inresolving other location-specific issuesthat were encountered.

Once the crews were hired and on theground, training became the next priority,especially safety training. Safety was nev-er compromised in the interest of complet-ing the project quickly. Crew memberswere trained to follow the safety practicesrequired on all CB&I's construction proj-ects. As a result, the project team com-

pleted the project without incurring arecordable injury or lost-time accident.

The ability to accomplish this significantresult required a total team effort. The com-mitment of every member of the construc-tion crew to work safely and to work smart,along with the outstanding leadership ofthe safety manager, the superintendent, theconstruction manager, and all the fieldsupervisors, contributed to the remarkablesuccess of this project. The spirit of theDominican Republic nationals, whosefriendly attitude and strong work ethic cre-ated the atmosphere in which the work was

performed, helped AES and CB&I findsolutions for all the challenges encounteredin the construction process and led to thesafe and successful completion of the proj-ect two months ahead of schedule.

CommissioningThe AES Andres LNG import terminal,the first in the Dominican Republic, wascommissioned on February 20, 2003. Thefacility achieved mechanical completionthe preceding September, but the powerplant at the site was not ready to receiveLNG at that time. In February, the firstship docked at the terminal site and suc-cessfully unloaded LNG into the terminal.Although the associated power plant wasstill not operational, the LNG was used to

fuel the Los Mina power plant, an olderpower plant owned and operated by AESin the neighboring city of Haina. The LosMina plant was retooled to use natural gasas a fuel source, and a pipeline was con-structed to carry the natural gas from theimport terminal to the plant.

In December, the new power plant wascompleted and the LNG import terminalwas fully tested. During this testing, all ofthe systems were operated and monitoredto ensure that all design specificationswere met, including the rate and pressureat which the ship was unloaded and the

rate and pressure of the send-out system.Adjustments were made as necessary toensure optimal performance.

ConclusionThe power plant and LNG import termi-nal are now fully operational, and LNGimported at the terminal is being used tofuel both the new AES Andres powerplant and the older Los Mina power plant.While the Dominican Republic continuesto seek solutions to meet its power needs,LNG is already bringing some relief to theproblem by providing a new fuel sourcefor power generation in the Santo Domin-go area, with tremendous potential fortransporting the fuel to other locationsthroughout the country.

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LNG journal January/February 2004 page 23

Tim McKinney is a Project Manager with CB&I Company Ltd. With over20 years of engineering and construction experience, he has worked 14 yearsas a Project Manager in locations around the world. He has overseen theconstruction of several LNG facilities and has specific expertise in grassrootsturnkey project development. He is a licensed professional engineer andreceived a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering fromLouisiana State University.

Brian Eisentrout is a Process Engineering Supervisor with CB&I TechnicalServices Co. He has more than 15 years experience as a supervisor of CB&Iengineering projects and has led teams in the design of a number of domes-tic and international LNG facilities, including liquefaction, storage, pump-out and import facilities. He is a licensed professional engineer and receiveda Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Washington StateUniversity.

Jeff Sipes is Vice President, LNG Business Development, Asia and TheAmericas at CB&I Company Ltd. With over 14 years experience with CB&I,he specializes in business development for LNG facilities. He has focusedon project development opportunities in Venezuela, then throughout Centraland South America, and he is currently pursuing opportunities in Asia aswell. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering fromTexas Tech University.

Barbara Weber is a Marketing Analyst with CB&I. She has 20 years expe-rience in the oil and gas industry, working primarily in public relations andmarketing. In this capacity, she has worked on various LNG projects. Shehas a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at El Paso, a Mas-ter of Arts degree from New Mexico State University, and an MBA from theUniversity of Phoenix.

Figure 3: The storage tank and send-outsystem

The spirit of the Dominican Republic nationals, whosefriendly attitude and strong work ethic created the

atmosphere in which the work was performed, helped AES and CB&I find solutions for all the

challenges encountered in the construction process.

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