IPTC 10676

Main Cryogenic Heat Exchanger Replacement at Brunei LNG

A. Omarali and P. Groeneweg, Brunei LNG Sdn. Bhd., and S. Kaart and B. Pek, Shell Global Solutions Intl.

Copyright 2005, International Petroleum Technology Conference

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exchanger of the fifth train was produced later than the

original four, an updated design was installed in train 5.
First Rejuvenation
Between 1992 and 1994, the first rejuvenation and
debottlenecking project was carried out at BLNG. In
subsequent years plant debottlenecking projects have been
implemented and the production capacity reached a maximum
of 7.3 MTPA or almost 140% of initial design capacity by
2003 (Fig. 1).

Introduction
8

Brunei LNG History

The construction of Brunei LNG started in 1968, and first
LNG was exported to Japan in 1972. The shareholders of the
BLNG plant are the Brunei Government (50%), Mitsubishi
Corporation (25%) and Shell (25%). Shell Global Solutions,
has also been the technical advisor of the Brunei LNG plant
since the initial phases of the project.
The BLNG project was the first to use the Propane Mixed
refrigerant (C3/MR) process, with spool wound main
cryogenic heat exchangers. In the original plant, eleven boilers
generated the steam for the turbine driven refrigerant
compressors. Treated river water is used as cooling medium in
an open cooling cycle. Each liquefaction train has a separate
gas treating section that consists of an acid gas removal unit,
dehydration unit and mercury removal unit.
Originally, the BLNG project included four trains with a
design capacity of 1.05 MTPA. During construction, the scope
was increased with a fifth train of the same capacity. This fifth
train started production in 1974. As the main cryogenic heat

7
LNG Export (Mtpa)

This paper addresses the economical and technical

justification for the rejuvenation of the existing, 33 years old,
Brunei LNG plant to extend its lifetime with a third 20-year
contract period to 2033. After an introduction into the history
of the development of the Brunei LNG plant, and its growth
aspirations for the 21st century, the paper will further focus on
the current Asset Reference Plan (ARP) and in particular the
technical challenges of the replacement of the Main Cryogenic
heat exchangers in four out of the five Brunei LNG production
trains.

6
5
4
3
2
Actual production
Nameplate

1
0
1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

Year

Figure 1. Development of production and nameplate capacity of

the BLNG plant.

BLNG is now just over the middle of its second 20-year

contract period with customers in Japan and South Korea. In
1999 BLNG launched an Asset Reference Plan campaign
which provided the technical and operational frame work to
stretch the plants lifetime to a third 20-years sales commitment
till 2033 and to meet the shareholders aspiration for an
increased sales flexibility.
Current Rejuvenation
The Main Cryogenic Heat Exchangers (MCHE) need to be
replaced in a number of trains. The cooling water system will
be upgraded as the system has reached the end of its technical
lifetime. To enable an on-line rejuvenation additional cooling
cells will be built. As a side effect the total plant efficiency
will increase because of these additional cells. Gas turbine
generators will replace the power plant and remaining steam
boilers will be upgraded. An increase in the Boil-off gas
compressor capacity will eliminate boil-off gas venting.

IPTC 10676

Apart from stretching the lifetime of the BLNG plant, the

combined effect of the ARP improvements will result in a
substantial increase in LNG production, typically from 205 to
215 B-cargoes per year. Meanwhile BLNG has started with
the implementation of Advanced Process Control (APC). APC
will help to provide the operational excellence that is required
to deliver additional production on a sustainable basis.

At the start of 2003, the EPC contract was awarded for the
installation of the new MCHEs. The approved detailed design
was finished by October 2003. In parallel to the detailed
design work, the procurement of materials had already taken
place to meet the time slot for pre-shutdown construction
work.
The first new MCHE could not be lifted onto its
foundation in T4 before a number of major projects were
completed in a running plant. These projects included the
relocation of existing utility facilities. Construction of the new
MCHE foundation, including micro piling, took place some
ten meters to the North from the current MCHE position. To
make way for the for the new MCHE foundations for train 1
and train 3, two new analyzer houses were built and the old
ones demolished. Finally, two big cranes (150 ton and 300
ton) had to be mobilized to lift the MCHE onto its foundation.

100
Cumulative distribution of developed
Leaks in T1 - T4 [%]

Replacement work

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

Year

Figure 2. Trend in developed leakages over the lifetime of the

MCHEs of train 1 4. As of 1999 the total number of tube leakages
per year suddenly increases. Train 1 and 2 contribute for the
major part to this increase.

As part of the initial plan, it was planned to replace at least

2 of the MCHEs in the period between 2009-2013. From 1999
onwards a sudden increase has been observed in the number
of tube leakages (Fig. 2). A business case study revealed that
in train 1-4 the MCHEs should be replaced at a faster pace
than initially planned for.
Main Cryogenic Heat Exchanger Replacement

The first new MCHE was erected on February the 10th

2004, slightly over a year after the EPC phase started. After
lifting the new MCHE, pre-shutdown work commenced with
the installation of piping and insulation of the MCHE body.
After almost 3 months T4 was shutdown the on May the 3rd
for major turnaround and final tie-ins of the new MCHE to the
existing system. In total over 40 tie-ins have been made that
range from 2 to 48 pipe. On June the 26th, commissioning
started by a team of BLNG, the EPC contractor, Linde and
Shell Global Solutions personnel. In the afternoon of the 29th
first LNG was produced.
The first of its kind replacement of a MCHE in a LNG
facility had become reality after 82 days of pre-shut down
construction work and a total shutdown time of 58 days to tie
in the MCHE into the existing system. After implementation
of the lessons learned, the total shutdown time reduced to 40
days for T1 and 37 days for T2. For the final T3 shutdown 38
days have been planned.

Process optimization
In May 2001, Shell Global Solutions assisted BLNG with
a process design study into replacement of the main cryogenic
heat exchangers (MCHE). The studies indicated that
increasing the area in the new MCHEs could reduce the
plants power demand and yield a higher production rate,
without further extensive debottlenecking.
Vendor selection
As part of the study, two approved vendors were invited to
provide designs for the replacement exchangers. Beyond a
competitive pricing bid, an important factor for the vendor
selection was the ability to meet the delivery schedule to
minimize the impact on plant availability and planned LNG
deliveries. In March 2002, Linde was awarded the contract.
The new MCHEs were planned to arrive in January 2004 (T1
& T4) and January 2005 (T2 & T3).

Performance test run

After a smooth start-up of Train 4 on June the 29th, the
production rate was kept constant for almost 1 month at the
design capacity. After the final preparations, the 72-hour testrun was carried out from August 24th to the 29th. To
demonstrate the increased production capability of the new
MCHE and the more energy efficient operation it was agreed
to run the performance test at 105% of design capacity. The
MR composition was kept as close as possible to the most
energy efficient composition. The hot-side temperature
approach (NGin minus MRout) was kept as small as allowable
by other operational constraints.
The LNG production rate remained, on average, at 106%
of the design capacity Fig. 3), which proves the 5% margin.
Even at this higher production rate the MR suction pressure
was slightly above the guarantee value (lower energy

IPTC 10676

consumption) and the LNG rundown temperature was almost

1C less than the guaranteed value.
To demonstrate the improved (energy) efficiency of the
new MCHE, the actual UA values should be compared to the
design value. However, design conditions and actual operating
conditions will always be different and must be fully
understood and taken into account. For this reason, the vendor
supplied a benchmark value for UA that was based on the
actual inlet conditions and the internal geometry of the
MCHE.

each tube side fluid has a constant heat capacity, which is

clearly a simplification. In the warm bundle of the MCHE
natural gas (NG) and the light mixed refrigerant (LMR) are
condensed and this is not a constant heat capacity process.
Figure 4 shows the differences in temperature between the
various tube side streams.
Top 100

NG
HMR
LMR

80

MRC

Percentage of total UA

108

LNG Rundown

106

104

102

100

Actual

60

40

20

Guarantee
Average
98
0

24

48

72

From the actual process data the effective UA values have

been determined by BLNG. For this purpose the cooling
curves have been generated from actual process data. As
internal heat exchanger geometry is vendor proprietary
information, a number of assumptions are required to arrive at
UA estimates from process data only.
First it is assumed that at a certain height, shell side MR
temperature is the same for each tube circuit. To allow tube
side temperatures to be different for each circuit at the same
height in the exchanger, it is assumed that the overall heat
transfer coefficient (U) is the same for all tube circuits. This
assumption implies that the shell side heat transfer resistance
dominates the overall heat transfer rate. Finally pressure drop
is scaled linearly with UA.
With these assumptions it is possible to step through the
heating curves with fixed steps in UA and calculate the duty
for each circuit and the associated temperature changes for
each of the different tube circuits and the temperature change
in the MR Coolant (MRC). Figure 4 shows the resulting
temperature profile through the warm bundle of the
exchanger.
The usual procedure to determine the required UA is by
stepping through the composite cooling and heating curves
with a fixed temperature step. This approach assumes that

-140

Temperature [C]

-120

-100

-80

-60

-40

Bottom 0
-20

Figure 3. Performance test-run production capacity

Time [hr]

Figure 4. Calculated temperature profile through the warm bundle

of the new MCHE

The actual performance test run conditions were close to

design conditions and the exchanger easily passed acceptance
criteria.
Summary and Outlook
Through a systematic approach it has been concluded that
rejuvenation of the more than 30 years old BLNG plant is the
best solution to extend its lifetime. The early replacement of 4
out of 5 MCHEs is a major step in this rejuvenation.
The replacement of the MCHEs for T4, T1 and T2 to date
has been a success. With a sustained focus on safety and
immediate implementation of lessons learned, the installation
schedule has been continuously sharpened, followed with
right-first-time start-ups in each case.
With the successful execution of the complex, multidisciplinary Brownfield MCHE replacement project an
important milestone has been achieved. Confidence is high
that the many more rejuvenation projects to follow will be a
success as well. These projects are BLNGs vehicle into the
21st century, realizing BLNGs ambitions of growth, and
helping to sustain its reputation as a reliable supplier.