Development of integrated LNG regasification and sea water desalination utilizing LNG cold energy for electric power and clean water production in Sumba Island

The declining rate of oil production in Indonesia urges a necessity to transition from conventional petroleum energy, to cleaner energy forms such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Indonesia has not prioritized domestic use of natural gas resources despite still struggling in fulfilling its residents’ energy needs. Sumba Island for example, has one of the lowest electrification ratio in Indonesia with just 50,9%. The two main geographical challenges facing Sumba Island is the remote location and the difficult access to clean water. This research proposes a solution to maximize conventional gas resource potential, promoting the domestic use of clean energy and providing Sumba Island with clean water supply. The methodology uses a techno-economic feasibility analysis for a Small-Scale LNG (SSLNG) model in Sumba Island. The LNG regasification uses an Integrated Fluid Vaporizer (IFV) with sea water - freeze desalination technology. The technology would use LNG cold energy to achieve eutectic point of water and salt mixture through a direct contact in an ice generator through heat exchange. The product is 0.22% brine and 99.78% ice water slurry of approximately 2 kg ice/kg LNG which would then be separated and used as clean water. The non-assisted economical scheme (S-1) would set Regasification fee at $ 7.48/MMBTU with NPV of $ 3,564 PBP at 8.11 years, IRR of 9,16 % and yearly revenue of $ 463.826. Best scheme available uses S-4 scheme receiving financial assistance in the form of low interest rate from banks loan and fiscal assistance in the form of tax cuts resulting in a margin of $ 0.68 from S-1 non assisted economic scheme.