The Balance between Innovations and Risks in the LNG Industry

Abstract

Since the sailing of the “Methane Pioneer” in January 1959, the LNG (liquefied natural gas) industry has had an impressive growth, as some thirty tankers are expected to be in operation by 1975. Also, it is generally well known that any overseas LNG project places a heavy demand on money as investment requirements typically run into several hundreds of million dollars. These two factors have put pressure on the engineering profession to innovate with the objective to reduce these large investments. There is nothing to be concerned about in innovation as long as the rate at which it is conducted is not so rapid as to forego the necessary in-depth analyses and prototype developments. This paper will not attempt to define detailed approaches that the engineer should use in evaluating the risks he takes when making design decisions, but rather it will be a generalized discussion of the factors which should be considered in the course of any LNG project.