INTERNATIONAL
Gas shortage spurs wider use of LNG Shipping of natural gas as liquid via ocean tanker is one answer to fuel crunch
Under construction in France, Descartes will deliver LNG to the U.S. East Coast
The critical natural gas supply shortage in the U.S. and general fuel shortages in the Free World are generating worldwide interest in finding alternative sources of supply. Large-scale movement of natural gas as liquid by sea tankers from major supply centers to gas deficient areas is an answer proposed by energy experts at the Second International Conference and Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG 2 ) , held in Paris. Large quantities of natural gas are currently transported by pipelines. However, the increasing use of natural gas (which currently fills about one fifth of the world's energy needs) has led to new techniques for moving this source of energy in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). This has increased the mobility of natural gas to the point where western Europe, North America, and Japan are now consuming gas delivered by sea tankers from the vast gas fields of North Africa, the Middle East, and the Arctic. The current fuel shortage and foreseeable technical progress will spur tremendously the use of LNG during the next years, experts stated at LNG 2. Ample deposits. There are ample deposits of natural gas throughout the world. In 1969, the world's proved reserves of natural gas were about 40 trillion cubic meters (double those at the end of 1959) of which nearly 40% are located in developing countries. Natural gas imports into western Europe, the U.S., and Japan may total some 120 billion cubic meters in 1978, according to projections of the Illinois 20 C&EN NOV. 30, 1970
Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago. By 1975, the contribution of natural gas to western Europe's total energy needs will have risen to about 11% compared to less than 3% in 1966. Total U.S. natural gas needs will top 850 billion cubic meters in 1975 and more than 1.1 trillion cubic meters in 1985, according to C. G. Filstead, Jr., managing director, Conch Methane Services, Ltd., London, England. U.S. production will climb from 540 billion cubic meters in 1968 to 717 billion cubic meters in 1973, representing an average annual increase of 5.8% during this period, he forecasts. Although imports of Canadian natural gas into the U.S. will grow 10% per year and will surpass 90 billion cubic meters by 1980, there could be a shortage of some 70 billion cubic meters in the U.S. by 1980, Mr. Filstead estimates. Two specific areas, the Atlantic seaboard and southern California, will require substantial natural gas imports to help overcome their supply problems during the 1970's. And natural gas as LNG will likely become a major source of energy for these two areas. For the Atlantic seaboard, natural gas needs which totaled some 92.3 billion cubic meters in 1968 will rise to 163 billion cubic meters in 1980. LNG imports will account for about 26% of the area's gas needs in 1980. In southern California, LNG imports will represent about 24% of the total gas needs in 1980 (about 51 billion cubic meters).
LNG as a premium form of energy has a place in a market such as Japan, which has a serious air pollution problem and a need for a clean form of energy, Mr. Filstead says. In 1980, natural gas demand will exceed 20 billion cubic meters in Japan, and the gas will account for 3% of the country's total energy supply. This is a far too modest amount, Mr. Filstead believes. At this level of natural gas use, LNG would account for about 33% (or 6.6 billion cubic meters) of Japanese natural gas needs in 1980. However, LNG use could be far greater if the pipeline project to move natural gas from Siberia to Japan does not materialize by 1975. In that case, Soviet gas could be imported into Japan as LNG by 1980, Mr. Filstead notes. LNG tankers. The growing demand for natural gas in the U.S., Japan, and western Europe will result in massive imports into these areas—some 30 billion cubic meters in 1978, according to United Nations estimates. And a massive demand for imported natural gas will mean a huge demand for LNG tankers, points out A. Makurin of the United Nations' energy division, Geneva, Switzerland. Ocean transport of LNG has yet to reach large-scale commercialization as the economics of building LNG tankers and of liquefaction and regasification plants are still uncertain. Five LNG tankers, with a total capacity of about 225,000 cubic meters, constitute the world's current entire LNG transport fleet. But four more tankers, with a capacity of 40,000 cu-
New GAF FLEXIFLO pressure filter system for big jobs and small·
Now you can get all the benefits of a proven pressurized filter system in a new, flexiblecapacity package —GAF FLEXIFLO. The new unit operates on the same prin ciple as the highly successful pressurized filter system GAF introduced in 1969 —only it con tains four GAF SNAP-RING ® micron-rated filter bags instead of one. This means you get four times the capacity of the single-bag unit—and you can vary the capacity of the unit in accord ance with the requirements of each filtration job. Run the unit at its full 160 gpm capacity for your big jobs and then simply close one valve to operate at half capacity on smaller jobs. At half capacity, flow is restricted to just two of the bags and thus bag replacement re quirements are cut in half. The new FLEXIFLO system features a split cover with only seven non-removable bolts. It can easily be opened and locked in place by one man. And, of course, FLEXIFLO provides all the other benefits of GAF's original pressurized filter system: Low operating costs because solids are con
fined in the bags for quick disposal, thereby minimizing the cleaning problem. Efficient filtration because the bags have a high solids collection capacity, high flow rates and long operating cycles with nominal micron ratings of 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, 100 and 200 (de pending on the fiber). A simplified, compact design—the vessel meas ures 39 inches high by 22 inches in diameter. Versatility in operation—you can filter a wide variety of chemicals, paints and other industrial fluids. The vessel, which is ASME coded to 125 psi with max. Δ Ρ of 50 psi, is available in mild or stainless steel. The unit operates with No. 1 size GAF SNAP-RING Filter Bags of Rayon, Ny lon or Polypropylene. Get complete information now from GAF Corporation, 321 Glenville Station, Greenwich, Conn.06830.Phone (203) 531-8700.
GAF Corporation, Industrial Products Division, 140 West 51 Street, New York, New York 10020
New way to hatch a hot (melt) idea.
Try Velsicol's new resin Klyrvel™ 90,75 and 60, intro duced to help you formulate a clear, light-colored adhesive. JL our chance to break through! These new developmental res ins are water-white, crystal-clear, thermoplastic, odorless, and characterized by excellent ultra violet, heat and oxygen stability. (And prices are right for econom ical formulations.) They cover a range of softening points, molecular weights, com patibilities, solubilities, viscosi ties and other physical properties. Our tests show that formula tions will work well in hot-melt coatings and adhesives, solventbased and hot-melt pressuresensitive adhesives. Advantages are offered in seal
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ibility, elasticity, toughness, ten sile strength and elongation. Water vapor transmission rates are good. Strong bonds are formed. Heat stability is excel lent. In packaging, these resins i m p a r t high gloss and good appearance. The new Klyrvel 75 and 60 resins act as tackifying agents for pressure-sensitive adhesives that are based on natural rubber. They contribute exceptional sta bility and do not add to color or color development. These grades can also be formulated with styrene-butadiene and styrene-isoprene block copolymers and other elastomers. These are our ideas. What are yours? Data and testing samples are free. Start now. Commercial quantities are available. Send the coupon below. Learn why so many big names are sticking with Velsicol.
VELSICOL CHEMICAL CORPORATION Commercial Development Group 341 East Ohio Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611 Please send additional data Π and samples of Π Klyrvel 90 • Klyrvel 75 Name_ CompanyAddress City/State/Zip
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CEN 120
bic meters each, are ready to start delivering LNG from Libya to Spain and Italy as soon as price problems are ironed out. (Esso Libya, which will supply the natural gas, is having problems with the Libyan government and can't set a definite price yet. ) The world's first commercial LNG tanker traffic began in 1964 between Algeria and the U.K. It was followed in 1965 by LNG shipments between Algeria and France. Last year two large LNG tankers, each with a capacity of 71,500 cubic meters, went into service between Alaska and Japan. Thirteen LNG carriers, with a total capacity of nearly 1 million cubic meters, are currently under construction. LNG tankers with a capacity of 120,000 cubic meters will be sailing in 1974-75. Giant tankers of 160,000 to 200,000 cubic meters are envisaged and could start operating as early as 1975. Among the companies which will operate the tankers are El Paso Natural Gas, Shell Oil, and France's Somalgaz. Delivery programs. Commitments have been made recently for various LNG delivery programs. The largest of them is the El Paso program, which calls for the annual delivery by LNG tankers of 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas to the U.S. East Coast, beginning in 1974-75. Two other important LNG programs are currently under discussion. One calls for the annual delivery to Japan of some 2.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Abu Dhabi, Arabia; the other, for the annual delivery to the U.S. East Coast (Philadelphia) of 4 to 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Venezuela. LNG shipping is very expensive, and only countries where cheap natural gas is available in large quantities can be considered as potential LNG exporters. The current major potential LNG exporters are the Middle East (proved reserves of 6.5 trillion cubic meters), North Africa (4 trillion cubic meters ), Pakistan ( 1 trillion cubic meters), Venezuela (800 billion cubic meters), Nigeria (350 billion cubic meters), and Indonesia (300 billion cubic meters ). To meet projected LNG demand from such countries as the U.S. and Japan, a giant investment program of some $5 billion will have to be launched during the next 10 years, speakers at the Paris conference stated. Storage facilities, with a total capacity of some 3 million cubic meters, will have to be installed in countries importing LNG (U.S., Japan, western Europe), and an LNG fleet, with a shipping capacity of some 4 million cubic meters, will have to be built at a cost of $1.6 billion.
Ugine-Kuhlmann takes new direction Ugine-Kuhlmann's coming merger with Pechiney (C&EN, Sept. 28, page 15) will substantially alter the future course of the French company's chemical operations. The chemical activities will become subsidiary to the complementary mining and metallurgical interests of the two companies to such an extent that Ugine-Kuhlmann will virtually be eliminated from the list of the top European chemical companies. Providing the impetus for the company's new emphasis on metallurgy is Ugine-Kuhlmann's president and chairman, Pierre Grezel. It was he who negotiated the merger agreement with Pechiney. Mr. Grezel came to Ugine-Kuhlmann from the Lazard banking group in October of last year, and now at age 69, he says he plans to retire next year. His decision is not a result of the merger, he says. He simply feels that no company president should be older than 70. Ugine-Kuhlmann, France's second largest chemical company, was formed by the 1966 union of Ugine, a large producer of specialty steels, electrochemicals, and aluminum, and Etablissements Kuhlmann, a firm specializing in fertilizers and dyes. The new group was considered a chemical company, but its consolidated sales ($940 million in 1969) are divided about equally between chemicals and metals. Ugine and Kuhlmann's marriage was not effective because the company did not integrate the chemical and metallurgical activities. Furthermore, the expense of large investments in many different sectors became too great, Mr. Grezel tells C&EN. The company had to choose one direction, and metallurgy was the choice. The merger with Pechiney—a nonferrous metals group with 1969 sales of $1.33 billion— followed from that decision. Pechiney abandoned its own chemical operations in 1969 by selling its share of Pechiney-Saint-Gobain to Rhone-Poulenc. It is thus unlikely to favor development of its new partner's chemical operations. The major thrust of the new group's expansion, according to Mr. Grezel, will thus be in its nonferrous metals and ferroalloy operations, with some emphasis also on specialty chemicals and nuclear energy. The chemical activities will be directed primarily toward support of the group's metallurgical interests. Fertilizer output will be considerably de-emphasized, he says, to the point where Ugine-Kuhlmann will no longer be considered a major producer. The outlook for dyes—
of which the company is France's largest producer—remains bright, however, since they are considerably more profitable. And the group will continue its plastics operations, Mr. Grezel indicates, although the emphasis may be shifted from production to processing. The group will also focus more attention on specialty chemicals. Ugine-Kuhlmann is already part of a joint venture which is building an aluminum fluoride plant in Mexico (C&EN, Nov. 16, page 27), and is also entering the pharmaceuticals field via the acquisition of Laboratoires Fournier Frères, a leading French drug maker. Overall, Ugine-Kuhlmann's future looks very bright to Mr. Grezel. He expects a considerable strengthening of its position in France and Europe, and hopes that Pechiney's worldwide network can be used for expansion and investment abroad. The company will invest some $500 million by 1975, in such projects as a 600,000 metric-ton-peryear steel and ferroalloys facility under construction at Fos-sur-Mer in southern France. The extent of the company's projects may seem rather small, Mr. Grezel points out, when compared to the giant investment programs launched by some German companies, for example. But, he thinks, those companies are playing a perilous game by relying too heavily on capital increases and loans. About two' thirds of Ugine-Kuhlmann's investments, on the other hand, are self-financed. In addition to the new ventures, the company has been streamlining its structure in preparation for the coming merger. It is, for instance, combining its (small) veterinary products operations into a single subsidiary called Sedagri. It is also consolidating its participation in various companies, as exemplified by its acquisition of operating control of Ethylox earlier this year (C&EN, May 4, page 21). These changes will help lessen the difficulties of combining operations with Pechiney.
NOV. 30, 1970 C&EN 23
