Backed by a US Department of Energy (DoE) grant, research participants BP, floating production contractor Bluewater, salt cavern expert HNG Storage, and DoE-affiliated National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) have been examining the process, which uses man-made salt caverns as LNG receiving terminals.
A $1 million pilot project, also called a "proof of concept" test, will be the next step following completion of the initial five-month study at the end of March, together with publication of the results and cost estimates.
