Burckhardt Compression will deliver two Labys to Dragon LNG Limited for its LNG import facility at Milford Haven, UK. The company recorded an order from Whessoe – Volker Stevin, to deliver two Labys – labyrinth piston compressors – for the LNG import facility in the UK.

The Laby has a ultra-low maintenance piston sealing design and is therefore the suitable solution for boil-off gas applications. The gastight casing
reduces gas emission and losses to the environment to zero.

Delivery of the compressors will take place in the second half of 2006. Laby compressors are used for liquid gas transport and storage as well as in the chemical and petrochemical industries. Labys compress bone-dry, dirty, abrasive and other gases with no contamination and without oil, with a discharge pressure up to 300bar (4350psi), flow up to 11000Nm3/h (6500scfm) and shaft power up to 2100kW (2800HP).

Laby compressors are extremely reliable machines, combining high performance with a cooling system.

Burckhardt Compression’s Laby easily manages the compression of LNG boil-off gas at suction temperatures down to minus 160°C (250°F).

The compressors will be used to reliquefy boil-off gas which forms during LNG unloading of the LNG carriers and to maintain the LNG storage temperature at minus 162°C.

Natural gas is cooled in a large refrigeration system to -162°C (260°F), at either the point of origin (gas production field) or the point of departure (LNG off loads terminal).
LNG is formed by cooling natural gas to very low temperatures (-162°C or 260°F) at which point the gas condenses into a liquid, commonly referred to as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). By liquefying, it is possible to reduce the bulk or volume of the gas by a factor of about 600, thus enabling large amounts to be transported over great distances
by tanker.

Burckhardt Compressionis based in Winterthur, Switzerland. www.burckhardtcompression.com