plugging into LNG

Houston companies combine for massive tugboat and export project

Houston has its stamp on the project in multiple ways with Gulf LNG Tugs boasting two Houston area companies in Bay-Houston Management LLC and Suderman & Young Towing Company. Photo via glenfarneenergytransition.com

Texas LNG, a four million tonnes per annum liquefied natural gas export terminal to be constructed in the Port of Brownsville, and a subsidiary of Glenfarne Energy Transition, announced the selection of its new partner.

Gulf LNG Tugs of Texas will operate, build, and deliver tugboats under an agreement to assist LNG carriers arriving at the facility. Tugs of Texas is part of a consortium of Suderman & Young Towing Co., Bay-Houston Towing, and Moran Towing Corp., and the tugboats will be among the “most modern, low-emissions tugboats available to serve a facility of Texas LNG’s size” according to the company. This will also align with Texas LNG’s "Green by Design" approach, and the deal is a long-term agreement.

The projected port for Texas LNG is considered to be an area with consistent operating temperatures, and reliable maritime operations with lower probability of impact from inclement weather like storms and damage associated with them. Globally, Texas LNG is also designed to be one of the lowest-emitting export terminals. Texas LNG is developing the project site on the north shore of the Port of Brownsville. This area offers access to a deep-water ship channel in close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and the Panama Canal.

“Gulf LNG Tugs is excited to be providing marine services in a long-term partnership with Texas LNG,” the companies say in a joint statement. “We are proud to be the exclusive tug operator for LNG vessels to yet another successful LNG project in the Port of Brownsville and look forward to expanding our operations in the port and our presence in the Rio Grande Valley community."

Houston has its stamp on the project in multiple ways with Gulf LNG Tugs boasting two Houston area companies in Bay-Houston Management LLC and Suderman & Young Towing Company.

New York and Houston-based Glenfarne works to provide solutions to lower the world’s carbon footprint, which aligns with the common goals of all the companies involved.

“The Texas LNG team undertook a comprehensive process to identify a marine service provider that not only matches our commitment to environmental stewardship, but also provides our customers with reliable, cost-effective marine services,” Brendan Duval, CEO and Founder of Glenfarne Energy Transition said in a news release. “We are pleased to have Gulf LNG Tugs on board as a partner and look forward to the jobs and local content they will bring to both Texas LNG and the local Rio Grande Valley community."

Texas LNG recently announced that it signed a Heads of Agreement with EQT Corporation for natural gas liquefaction services for 0.5 MTPA of LNG, in addition to partnerships with Baker Hughes and ABB to help develop the terminal. This represents equipment selections for Texas LNG to date that is worth half a billion dollars’ worth.

Construction is slated to begin this year after the financing of the project is finalized.

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A View From HETI

A team from UH has published two breakthrough studies that could help cut costs and boost efficiency in carbon capture. Photo courtesy UH.

A team of researchers at the University of Houston has made two breakthroughs in addressing climate change and potentially reducing the cost of capturing harmful emissions from power plants.

Led by Professor Mim Rahimi at UH’s Cullen College of Engineering, the team released two significant publications that made significant strides relating to carbon capture processes. The first, published in Nature Communications, introduced a membraneless electrochemical process that cuts energy requirements and costs for amine-based carbon dioxide capture during the acid gas sweetening process. Another, featured on the cover of ES&T Engineering, demonstrated a vanadium redox flow system capable of both capturing carbon and storing renewable energy.

“These publications reflect our group’s commitment to fundamental electrochemical innovation and real-world applicability,” Rahimi said in a news release. “From membraneless systems to scalable flow systems, we’re charting pathways to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors and support the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

According to the researchers, the “A Membraneless Electrochemically Mediated Amine Regeneration for Carbon Capture” research paper marked the beginning of the team’s first focus. The research examined the replacement of costly ion-exchange membranes with gas diffusion electrodes. They found that the membranes were the most expensive part of the system, and they were also a major cause of performance issues and high maintenance costs.

The researchers achieved more than 90 percent CO2 removal (nearly 50 percent more than traditional approaches) by engineering the gas diffusion electrodes. According to PhD student and co-author of the paper Ahmad Hassan, the capture costs approximately $70 per metric ton of CO2, which is competitive with other innovative scrubbing techniques.

“By removing the membrane and the associated hardware, we’ve streamlined the EMAR workflow and dramatically cut energy use,” Hassan said in the news release. “This opens the door to retrofitting existing industrial exhaust systems with a compact, low-cost carbon capture module.”

The second breakthrough, published by PhD student Mohsen Afshari, displayed a reversible flow battery architecture that absorbs CO2 during charging and releases it upon discharge. The results suggested that the technology could potentially provide carbon removal and grid balancing when used with intermittent renewables, such as solar or wind power.

“Integrating carbon capture directly into a redox flow battery lets us tackle two challenges in one device,” Afshari said in the release. “Our front-cover feature highlights its potential to smooth out renewable generation while sequestering CO2.”

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