Global Gathering for Gas

The largest ever Gastech show in its 34-year history took place in Bangkok in March, and as well as all the supplier giants of the industry, process automation players were keen to show off their solutions for the sector.

Beginning back in 1974 in Amsterdam, Gastech – the major international event for the liquid natural gas (LNG), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), and natural gas industries – traditionally moves around the world, with different cities taking turns to host the event. For 2008, it was Bangkok, Thailand, that was the destination point for the luminaries of the international gas industry.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to the 23rd Gastech. This year, PTT Public Company, the Thai state owned enterprise under the Ministry of Energy, is delighted to host this prestigious event,” announced Energy Minister Lieutenant General Poonpirom Liptapanlop at the opening ceremony, which was graced by the presence of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

Held over four days in March, Gastech 2008 saw some 300 companies from the exploration, production, processing, storage and transportation sectors of the industry showcased in the 13,000 square meter exhibition space within the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC). Prominent names included Qatargas, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell. At the co-located conference, 120 speakers tackled a wide range of both commercial and technical industry issues.

“In terms of world energy consumption, natural gas represents 24 percent, and it is rapidly becoming a global energy commodity. The combination of strong demand in North America and Europe, together with a maturity in their resource bases is driving gas consumers further afield,” said Lt Gen Liptapanlop.

The Energy Minister also pointed to the rapid expansion of the LNG sector of the industry: “LNG is now entering a major new phase both in terms of volume growth and global spread. Global LNG supply capacity will increase 50 percent in just four years. LNG will fill the gap between flat domestic gas supply and climbing demand.”

For Thailand itself, in addition to piped gas, the Thai government considers LNG to be a critical additional supply source and is investing in the construction of a receiving terminal with an initial annual capacity of five million tons, and plans to double this in a second phase, announced Lt Gen Liptapanlop.

LNG was also a hot topic for other speakers at the Gastech 2008 opening ceremony. “LNG growth remains strong, with demand growing at four times the global annual growth rate of natural gas overall,” said Jon Chadwick, Executive Vice President, Asia, Shell Gas & Power.

Chadwick outlined a number of reasons behind the LNG success story: cost competitive with other forms of gas delivery, especially over long distances; commendable track record of reliability and safety; flexibility – unlike pipeline gas, buyers can source LNG from a number of supply points; divertibility – partners can divert volumes to a third party when demand fluctuates unexpectedly, which provides greater liquidity and rebalances the market.

For ExxonMobil, Andy Swiger, President, Gas & Power Marketing Company, highlighted advances in technology that have made it possible to economically supply LNG from remote resources to growing demand centers. However, he also cautioned that although the industry has made great technological progress over the years, “the challenge of meeting a projected five-fold increase in LNG production by 2030 is quite formidable”.

Taking notes: after officiating at the Gastech 2008 opening ceremony, an evidently interested HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (center) spent time touring the exhibition booths. Thailand is investing in the construction of an LNG receiving terminal with an initial annual capacity of five million tons.	With LNG (liquid natural gas) demand growing at four times the global annual growth rate of natural gas overall and supply capacity set to increase 50 percent in just four years, it was no surprise that LNG was a big talking point at the Gastech conference and prominent at many of the exhibition booths.
(l-r) John Colpo, Global Marketing and Strategy, Oil & Gas, and Abha Dubey, Thailand Country Manager, Honeywell Process Solutions. As well as control systems solutions like Experion PKS R3000 for gas industry automation, last year’s the acquisition of tank gauging specialists Enraf puts Honeywell in a strong position to serve the rapidly growing LNG terminal business.	(l-r) David Reif, Vice President,, Global Hydrocarbon Industry Sales, and Charlie Morrison, Director, Global Oil & Gas Sales and Marketing, Emerson Process Management. Featured was the new Smart Wireless range of process instruments. “Wireless represents a great opportunity for customers to get those stranded diagnostics from the field,” Reif told CE Asia.
John Gilmore, Director – Marketing, Upstream Oil & Gas, Invensys Process Systems, shows how operators can move from conventional control room “2D screen” training to a virtual environment (VE) using technology from the dynamic simulation tool DYNSIM. The prototype was developed as part of a of an EC funded project that aims to improve safety in process plants and storage sites through the use of virtual reality technologies.	Liquefaction, transportation, regasification – Yokogawa offers solutions throughout the LNG supply chain. The company’s Exapilot product was also selected by Shell for the development of the first ever automated cool-down system for main cryogenic heat exchangers (MCHE) in liquefaction plants, which was announced at a special press conference at Gastech 2008.