7 facts about marine terminals and landfalls

Landfalls and marine terminals, also known as oil terminals and LNG terminals, is an area that few engineers fully understand. However, knowing how to efficiently transport oil and gas long distances from subsea to shore is fundamental. 

Here are Jee’s top 7 facts to help you get to know them better.

1) There are approximately 4,000 tankers worldwide that carry around half the world’s total oil production. A tanker ship lasts for about 10 years

2) There are different options for docking to the port – loading arms at quaysides and jetties, conventional buoy mooring (CBM) (or multi-buoy mooring) and single point mooring (SPM). The most common SPM is a catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM)

3) Sullom Voe Terminal in the Shetland Islands is one of the largest oil and gas terminals in Europe, receiving its first oil in 1978 and currently handling production from more than two-dozen oilfields

4) The Royal Vopak from the Netherlands is the largest independent terminal operator with over 80 terminals in 31 countries

5) Waves refract as they come into shallow water, which means that they approach the shore in a direction close to a right angle, no matter which way they had been travelling further out. Pipelines normally approach perpendicular to the shoreline to minimise the destabilising cross-velocities of breaking waves. Even so, it is normal to bury the pipeline on its final approach and across the beach in the surf zone.

6) There are many dangers at marine terminals and storage facilities, including pipeline corrosion at the landfall, overflowing of tanks whilst filling and gas escapes, to name a few. If unchecked they could all lead to a fire or even an explosion.

7) The rapid expansion of LNG refrigeration/loading and unloading/regasification facility construction is being limited by the number of capable design engineers and contracting companies, so your skills are needed!

And one random fact!

8) Landfall in North Carolina, USA was named Best Address in the 2001 Forbes magazine Best Places list.

Hungry for more? Book your place now to learn more about landfalls and marine terminals’ issues on this Jee training course:
10-12 Jan 2012 – Landfalls and marine terminals