Our Projects

Project Summary

In 2018 Cornerstone Energy Services, Inc., served as the Engineering provider for an EPC team that completed an overhaul of an LNG facility in Fall River, MA for Liberty Utilities. The project involved refurbishment of the LNG pumps, total replacement of the vaporizers and heating system, including a building, as well as tank, electrical, fire alarm and boil-off improvement. As with any LNG life extension project, the scope included some accessory elements, and required specialty engineering and construction to accommodate the special hazards associated with construction in an operating LNG facility, or SIMOPS.

Challenges and Solutions

The project included many engineering challenges that are likely to be encountered in LNG life-extension projects. Most notable was maintaining the functionality of the existing system as long as possible before cutover of the new system, including the refurbishment of the old pumps. During the project, the old system was maintained while the new one was built in close proximity. Cornerstone provided many engineering procedures, plans and sequences to ensure minimal outages to critical plant systems. As an example of the unique and innovated solutions required, the boil off overhaul was completed in its entirety utilizing taps and stops and bypasses, such that the tank was shut in for no longer than 24 hours, and the pressure was managed throughout. Additional challenges included developing specialty procedures for tie-ins to 50-year-old systems no longer holding. For example, the tank bottom fill valve bypassed liquid, and the secondary valve bypassed vapor. Cornerstone relied on our team of LNG experts to provide in-depth procedures and special methods for completing this tie-in. Cornerstone has been successful in teaming with contractors and clients to safely make these critical tie-ins on several LNG projects.