Marsa LNG: Reducing GHG emissions of an LNG Plant and its bunkering activities from Design to Operation

Marsa LNG showcases TotalEnergies’s ambition of being a responsible player in the energy transition and the support and commitment of the OQ Exploration and Production SAOG company “OQEP” towards this transition and the reduction of CO2 emissions. From day one, it was decided that the project will be 100% electrically driven and supplied with solar power to reach a super low carbon intensity of about 5 kgCO2eq/boe at end of FEED while the average of liquefaction plants is above 30 kgCO2eq/boe.

The partners were convinced that reducing emissions of an LNG plant requires more than electrifying compressor drivers with green energy by also addressing hard-to-abate emissions. Remaining emissions are of different nature: generation of heat, presence of methane in different streams to the atmosphere, and flaring either during emergency or start-up. Hence, before the Investment Decision, studies were conducted to eliminate any avoidable CO2 emissions to make this new Plant a flagship with an intensity below 3 kgCO2eq/boe. Significant efforts are also made on the marine side of the project with innovative emissions reduction initiatives embedded in the design and the way to operate the dedicated bunker vessel of Marsa LNG.

The paper will showcase first how the use of Best Available Technologies and optimized operational procedures allow tackling emissions from heat generation, methane emissions and minimize flaring and second how the logistic emissions are reduced thanks to optimized bunker vessel design and operation.

These means enable Marsa LNG to be a virtuous example for the industry to bring cleaner LNG to the LNG bunkering business and the overall LNG market.