Kinder Morgan contracts IHI E&C for Elba liquefaction work in Georgia

Kinder Morgan and its subsidiaries have awarded IHI E&C a contract for the engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and startup of Kinder Morgan’s natural gas liquefaction project at Elba Island, near Savannah, Georgia, officials announced on Wednesday.

The approximately $2-billion Elba liquefaction project will consist of 10 movable modular liquefaction system (MMLS) trains using Shell's proprietary technology.

The new units will connect to Kinder Morgan’s existing re-gasification terminal at Elba Island, which will be modified to receive liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the new liquefaction facilities.

Modifications to the existing Elba facilities will include compression for vapor handling and new pumps for loading the LNG on vessels for export.

Shell is the customer for 100%of the liquefaction capacity and ship-loading services being developed by the project. When completed, the Elba Liquefaction Project will process and liquefy a total capacity of approximately 2.5 MMtpy of LNG.

“We are excited about this next step for our future LNG export project and look forward to working with IHI E&C to bring it to fruition,” said Norman Holmes, president of Kinder Morgan’s pipelines business for the Southern region.

The companies have developed a schedule that reflects the modular aspect of the new liquefaction facility. Initial engineering, procurement and construction planning are being performed by IHI E&C’s Houston office while awaiting approval of the project by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

In addition to project modularization, execution will feature significant instrumentation and electrical engineering, logistics and interface management, procurement, supply-chain expertise, and large scale construction.

“IHI E&C is very pleased to receive this award, following a period of FEED validation,” said Glyn Rodgers, president of IHI E&C. “We and Kinder Morgan share the same quality, safety and performance objectives on making this project a huge success.”

From the outset, the companies say they will share a commitment to establish and maintain a collaborative effort and an HSE (health, safety and the environment) mindset that fosters no harm for the workforce and the environment, built on continued HSE culture reinforcement.

The execution strategy includes local subcontracting for site services, local hire for labor, utilization of local vendors for consumables, and working with local authorities on traffic and other community interests. Proactive quality management will encompass every aspect of the project, from EPC through to commissioning and start-up, the companies said.

The project also will exemplify IHI E&C’s business model during the execution phase, the company says, with a specific focus on value to the customer, collaboration and performance.

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