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RECEPTION

The Dominican Republic LNG Import Terminal:

Challenges in Engineering, Procurement and Construction
Brian Eisentrout, Tim McKinney, Jeff Sipes, and Barbara Weber, CB&I, USA

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.

A
s energy deficient countries con- The Dominican Republic comprises the
tinue to seek environmentally eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, an island
friendly fuel sources to feed new located between the Caribbean Sea and
power generation, opportunities have the North Atlantic Ocean just to the south-
emerged to couple LNG import terminals east of Cuba. A site for the LNG import
with the construction of new power terminal and power plant was selected
plants. A recent project in the Dominican along the shoreline, 30 km east of the
Republic provides a successful example of Dominican Republic's capital city of Santo
this strategic combination. The power Domingo. The sea is rough in this area,
plant and the terminal, the first LNG facil- and the land is pelted with salt spray.
ities in the Dominican Republic, were Since the island sits atop a large coral reef,
planned in such a way that they could be the shoreline is dominated by porous
operated efficiently together, despite the limestone (see Figure 1). Over time, the
fact that each was designed by a different sea and the spray have created numerous
company. A number of innovative fea- cavities in the limestone. The area is seis-
tures were included in the design to opti- mically active and located in the middle of
mize the integration. The LNG that is now the path many hurricanes follow as they
imported into the Dominican Republic for move through the Caribbean corridor.
use in the new power plant is also avail- These are the conditions that AES Cor-
able as a fuel source for older existing poration encountered when they initiated
power plants in this small island the AES Andres project in the Dominican
Caribbean country. One of the country's Republic. This project consisted of three
older plants has already been retooled to contracts: the power plant, the jetty, and
be able to use natural gas as its fuel source, the LNG import terminal. AES selected
with other plants looking at the viability of CB&I to deliver the LNG import terminal
Figure 1: Aerial view of completed AES Andres LNG Import Terminal
making this same alteration. portion of this project on a lump-sum

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LNG journal January/February 2004 page 20

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LNGjournal
turnkey basis. The import terminal includ- able foundation for the storage tank. As holes were drilled into the limestone construction of the earthen secondary con-
ed a receiving system to unload the LNG the preliminary excavation work for the under the tank and under parts of the tainment structure was convenient; how-
from the ship, a storage tank with enough ringwall was being performed, it was dis- process area, and then the boreholes and ever, these materials required stabilization
capacity to hold the entire cargo of a covered that the limestone in that area any cavities encountered were pumped when used in the earthen dike (see Figure
145,000 m3 LNG ship, a vapor handling contained solution cavities where the min- full of grout. Approximately 2,000 cubic 1). To improve the soil's structural proper-
system, and a send-out system, all fully eral in the rock had leached out over time. yards (1600 m3) of grout was pumped into ties and reduce its permeability, the soil in
integrated with the associated power plant Some of these cavities could not be avoid- the limestone beneath the tank through the outer five feet of the dike was mixed
(see Figure 2). CB&I's work included proj- ed and required remediation. To strength- these holes. with cement and compacted to form soil
ect development support, process design, en the limestone beneath the tank, bore- The use of locally available materials for cement. Both the walls and the bottom of
civil and structural design,
detail engineering, material
supply, fabrication, project
management, construction,
pre-commissioning, startup
and operator training for the
import terminal.
CB&I faced numerous
challenges in both the design
and the construction of this
facility, including: FCX Orton MV Series
„ building an LNG facility triple eccentric
on a location with harsh metal-seated valves for
site conditions, subjected use in the Atlantic LNG
to frequent seismic events project in Trinidad
and also with high expo-
sure to hurricane winds
common in the Caribbean
„ a design requirement to
optimize the efficiency of
the adjoining power plant
through a unique system
FCX manufactured Truflo ball
for thermal integration
valves; Rona gate, globe and
with the LNG terminal,
check valves and Royal butterfly
and
valves were supplied to the Korean
„ a need to balance capital
Gas Corporation’s LNG terminals
expenditures against
at Inchon and Pyeong Taek.
operating costs to make
Photo courtesy Korean Gas Corporation
the terminal as capital
efficient as possible
The terminal is designed for
the typical one-day LNG
ship unloading turnaround.
The unloading time includ-
Specialist valves for
ing LNG transfer arm cool-
down and ship cargo pump
ramp up and ramp down
performance critical
will not exceed this one-day
allowance. These design
challenges were intensified
LNG applications
by an aggressive schedule
aimed at expediting the com-
Orton MV Royal Truflo top-entry
pletion of the entire project
Series BW, top cryogenic ball valve
as quickly as possible to meet
entry, triple
the Dominican Republic's FCX offers products for
eccentric, metal
critical need for power. This
seated valves every application, from
article describes the notable
engineering, procurement,
hazardous chemicals to
and construction challenges abrasive powders at a
encountered in building the range of temperatures
first LNG import terminal in and pressures.
the Dominican Republic.
With 40,000 product lines held FCX Europe Head Office
Engineering at 30 technical centres
Gaetano Martinolaan 95
6229 GS Maastricht
Challenges worldwide, FCx has the power
The Netherlands
AES and CB&I worked close- Tel: +31 43 35 66 901

ly together to develop a to supply and support Fax: +31 43 35 66 903

email: [email protected]
design concept for the termi- customers anywhere with flow website: www.fc-x.com
nal that would not only be control solutions - from single FCX Orton
cost-efficient to operate valves to complete packages. Via Grilli, 2/A San Nicolo A Trebbia
29010-Rottofreno-(PC)
stand-alone, but would also
Italy
provide operational efficien- tel:+39 0523 762 511
cies when used in conjunc- fax:+39 0523 762 512
email: [email protected]
tion with the power plant.
Site Conditions: The porous The Power to Perform web:www.fcx-orton.com

FCX Truflo Rona

limestone topography pre- Parc Industriel des Hauts Sarts 4040 Herstal
sented a variety of challenges Belgium
tel:+32 (0) 4 240 6886
to the design of the import
terminal and associated stor-
www.fcx-orton.com fax:+32 (0) 4 248 0246
email:[email protected]
age tank. A ringwall was www.fcx-truflo-rona.com web:www.fcx-truflo-rona.com

designed to provide a suit-

LNG journal January/February 2004 page 21

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RECEPTION

vaporize and superheat the LNG from a necessary capacity. As the LNG is
liquid at -260 °F (-162 °C) to a vapor at 40 unloaded into the storage tank, some
°F (4 °C). During this process of vaporiz- residual vapor is released. The vapor load
ing and heating, the water/glycol is may be handled in several different ways
cooled and then sent to the power plant, depending on the options available to the
providing cooling for the utilities and import terminal at the time of ship unload-
cooling for the inlet air for the gas turbine, ing. Conventional non-cryogenic blowers
both of which make the power plant oper- and compressors handle this vapor load
ate more efficiently. The heated by returning vapor to the ship and send-
water/glycol is returned to the terminal. ing it to the recondenser. Vapor may also
This closed-loop cycle is then repeated. be flared on an emergency basis.
While the power plant is operating, the The unloaded LNG is sent to a double-
temperature of the water/glycol sent to wall, steel, flat-bottom tank (see Figure 3).
the power plant is maintained by an inte- The storage tank design capacity is 160,000
grated control system. Both the LNG ter- m3, allowing the entire capacity of a
minal and the power plant are responsible 145,000 m3 LNG tanker to be unloaded
for maintaining this temperature as well while maintaining adequate inventory to
as the heat balance. Common pumps allow for shipping schedule variations.
located in the import terminal area circu- The outer tank is carbon steel, the inner
late the water/glycol to the power plant tank that holds the LNG is 9%-nickel steel,
and back to the import terminal. No addi- and the suspended deck is aluminum.
Figure 2 Schematic for the LNG Import Terminal tional water/glycol pumps are required in Insulation on the internal suspended deck
the power plant to circulate the mixture. and in the annular space between the
the containment structure were construct- would withstand a horizontal peak This design improves the operating effi- inner and outer tank walls is expanded
ed of this soil/cement mixture. Addition- ground acceleration of 0.857g (Safe Shut- ciency and the output capacity of the plant perlite. The load bearing bottom insula-
ally, a concrete revetment mat was con- down Earthquake -SSE horizontal as with no additional capital investment. tion is cellular glass.
structed over the ocean-side surface of the defined by NFPA 59A 1996) as well as 150 A heat exchanger in the water/glycol In many LNG import terminals, the
dike to protect the dike from wave-action mile an hour wind gusts. loop uses seawater as a back-up heating vapor handling system compresses the
damage during severe storms. Thermal Integration: The desire to opti- system for vaporization so natural gas boil-off and unloading vapor to the line
Seismic studies of the site were con- mize the efficiency of the power plant send-out may occur when the power plant pressure of the pipeline. In contrast, the
ducted and analyzed to ascertain specific through a thermal system integrated with is not operating. The power plant cooling vapor handling system designed for this
data about the location. This data was the terminal presented yet another set of water pumps provide the seawater to the project was made more economical to
used to determine the requirements for challenges. A heat transfer system, using import terminal so a separate import ter- operate by using efficient pump energy
building structures that might experience a water/glycol heat transfer fluid, facilitat- minal seawater intake is not required. instead of gas compression to do the
an earthquake of the magnitude and dura- ed the use of waste heat and turbine com- LNG Reception, Storage and Send-Out: majority of the work in handling the boil-
tion that could occur at the site. U.S. engi- bustion air as a heat source for vaporiza- The terminal was designed to unload a off and unloading vapor. The vapor han-
neering codes were followed to develop a tion. On the terminal end, the warm ship at a rate of 10,500 m3 per hour. In this dling system compresses the boil-off and
structural design for the storage tank that water/glycol mixture was designed to case, three unloading arms provide the excess ship unloading vapor and sends it

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LNG journal January/February 2004 page 22

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LNGjournal
engineering had been completed, and tank pleted the project without incurring a fuel the Los Mina power plant, an older
materials could be ordered. The early recordable injury or lost-time accident. power plant owned and operated by AES
release of engineering shaved three to four The ability to accomplish this significant in the neighboring city of Haina. The Los
months from the construction schedule. result required a total team effort. The com- Mina plant was retooled to use natural gas
The scope of the project grew during mitment of every member of the construc- as a fuel source, and a pipeline was con-
the construction process. One of the first tion crew to work safely and to work smart, structed to carry the natural gas from the
modifications to the project involved a along with the outstanding leadership of import terminal to the plant.
request to complete the send-out system the safety manager, the superintendent, the In December, the new power plant was
so that it could be used stand-alone, if nec- construction manager, and all the field completed and the LNG import terminal
essary, while the storage tank was being supervisors, contributed to the remarkable was fully tested. During this testing, all of
built. According to the original schedule, success of this project. The spirit of the the systems were operated and monitored
the power plant would be operational Dominican Republic nationals, whose to ensure that all design specifications
before the storage tank was completed. friendly attitude and strong work ethic cre- were met, including the rate and pressure
The intent of the modification was to send ated the atmosphere in which the work was at which the ship was unloaded and the
LNG directly to the power plant from a
ship without waiting for the completion of
the storage tank. The send-out system
was built first and connected directly to
Figure 3: The storage tank and send-out the receiving system. LNG could then be The spirit of the Dominican Republic nationals, whose
system unloaded from the ship at a low flow rate
and sent directly through the send-out friendly attitude and strong work ethic created the
to the recondenser, operating at low pres- system to the plant. While not cost-effec-
sure. The LNG flowing through the recon- tive for normal operations since the time atmosphere in which the work was performed,
denser condenses the vapor, which then
becomes liquid and is added to the send-
required for the ship to remain at the facil-
ity was greatly increased, this design pro-
helped AES and CB&I find solutions for all the
out volume. Second stage pumps are used
to increase the pressure of the liquid to
vided flexibility for the import terminal
operators during the construction process.
challenges encountered in the construction process.
pipeline pressure. The liquid then goes Although subsequent construction delays
through a vaporizer, where it is warmed with the power plant rendered it unneces-
to 40°F and sent into the pipeline. This sary to use the send-out system stand-
design, using a recondenser, reduces both alone, it was successfully built with the performed, helped AES and CB&I find rate and pressure of the send-out system.
capital and operating costs by minimizing capability to be operated in this manner. solutions for all the challenges encountered Adjustments were made as necessary to
the size of the compression equipment, as Other modifications that were added to in the construction process and led to the ensure optimal performance.
the vapor is compressed only to recon- the scope of the work involved the civil safe and successful completion of the proj-
denser pressure, which is a small fraction work at the site. CB&I was up and run- ect two months ahead of schedule. Conclusion
of pipeline pressure. ning on location so quickly that it made The power plant and LNG import termi-
sense for them to handle much of the work Commissioning nal are now fully operational, and LNG
Procurement Challenges that was originally included in another The AES Andres LNG import terminal, imported at the terminal is being used to
Procurement also presented significant part of the project, including the building the first in the Dominican Republic, was fuel both the new AES Andres power
challenges. Materials and equipment of roads, drainage systems, and site reme- commissioned on February 20, 2003. The plant and the older Los Mina power plant.
were purchased from over 15 different diation. They were able to subcontract facility achieved mechanical completion While the Dominican Republic continues
countries. The international effort of iden- and oversee this work and complete it the preceding September, but the power to seek solutions to meet its power needs,
tifying qualified suppliers, monitoring along with the import terminal. plant at the site was not ready to receive LNG is already bringing some relief to the
their progress, inspecting the suppliers' Because of its long history of construct- LNG at that time. In February, the first problem by providing a new fuel source
finished products, and ensuring on-time ing facilities in the Dominican Republic, ship docked at the terminal site and suc- for power generation in the Santo Domin-
delivery to the jobsite required a diverse CB&I was able to hire and train the con- cessfully unloaded LNG into the terminal. go area, with tremendous potential for
project team with worldwide coverage. struction crew in an expedited timeframe. Although the associated power plant was transporting the fuel to other locations
The logistics of coordinating shipping The construction crew was predominantly still not operational, the LNG was used to throughout the country. „
through various U.S. ports for consolida- staffed with labor resources from the
tion with materials shipped direct to the Dominican Republic. Including subcon-
Tim McKinney is a Project Manager with CB&I Company Ltd. With over
Dominican Republic challenged the most tractors, about 90% of the construction
experienced managers. crew members were Dominican Republic 20 years of engineering and construction experience, he has worked 14 years
nationals (exceeding the local labor as a Project Manager in locations around the world. He has overseen the
Construction Challenges requirement). Of the CB&I employees on construction of several LNG facilities and has specific expertise in grassroots
The construction of the LNG import termi- the crew, at least half were nationals, turnkey project development. He is a licensed professional engineer and
nal presented its own set of unique chal- many of whom had worked for CB&I on received a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering from
lenges. Most of these were driven by the other projects in the Dominican Republic. Louisiana State University.
accelerated project schedule created to This experience greatly reduced the
Brian Eisentrout is a Process Engineering Supervisor with CB&I Technical
address critical power shortages in the amount of training time required and
Services Co. He has more than 15 years experience as a supervisor of CB&I
Dominican Republic. AES wanted the facilitated the fast-track construction pace.
engineering projects and has led teams in the design of a number of domes-
import terminal completed and opera- CB&I was able to select skilled supervisors
tional in 26 months to meet this need. from their extensive labor pool in neigh- tic and international LNG facilities, including liquefaction, storage, pump-
Construction was completed in a record 24 boring Central and South America, as well out and import facilities. He is a licensed professional engineer and received
months, beating this deadline. as the Caribbean. These individuals a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Washington State
AES worked with CB&I to develop a played key roles in field supervision and University.
construction schedule that would bring up created a team of talented professionals Jeff Sipes is Vice President, LNG Business Development, Asia and The
the facility in phases. The first phase who were adept at handling local, as well Americas at CB&I Company Ltd. With over 14 years experience with CB&I,
began when AES granted CB&I early as global, construction problems. This
he specializes in business development for LNG facilities. He has focused
release of the engineering. This allowed approach not only helped shorten the
on project development opportunities in Venezuela, then throughout Central
CB&I to do all the preliminary work in project schedule, but it also helped in
and South America, and he is currently pursuing opportunities in Asia as
preparation for the construction startup resolving other location-specific issues
while AES was still securing the necessary that were encountered. well. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from
permits. As a result, once all the permits Once the crews were hired and on the Texas Tech University.
were received and AES gave CB&I the ground, training became the next priority, Barbara Weber is a Marketing Analyst with CB&I. She has 20 years expe-
Notice to Proceed, CB&I was able to mobi- especially safety training. Safety was nev- rience in the oil and gas industry, working primarily in public relations and
lize and begin construction within one er compromised in the interest of complet- marketing. In this capacity, she has worked on various LNG projects. She
week, with subcontractors hired and on ing the project quickly. Crew members has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at El Paso, a Mas-
location. Purchase orders were estab- were trained to follow the safety practices
ter of Arts degree from New Mexico State University, and an MBA from the
lished and long-lead items could be required on all CB&I's construction proj-
University of Phoenix.
ordered quickly. Foundation and site ects. As a result, the project team com-

LNG journal January/February 2004 page 23