In 2005, Sonatrach initiated a rebuild operation, which involved demolition of the damaged trains and the reconstruction of 1 mega train of 4.5 MMTPA capacity, using Air Products’ process technology. The LNG complex was erected at Skikda, a city in north-eastern Algeria on the Mediterranean Gulf of Stora, 500 km east of Algiers. The 1 MMTPA capacity train 40, was built adjacent to train 30 and shared the existing utilities. The plant became operational in 2013. ‘Report sheds new light on LNG blast in Algeria’, Alexander’s Gas & Oil Connections 8. The explosion destroyed three out of the six liquefaction trains, damaged a nearby power plant and resulted in the shutdown of a 335,000 bbl per day refinery. The cause of the incident was unclear although Algerian media reported that "sabotage" was unlikely at a high-security zone because the Arzew complex accounts for most of the country's liquefied natural gas exports. It is one of the biggest LNG export outlets in the world. Experts said Sonatrach does not want to lose market share to competing LNG producers in Africa, such as Egypt and Nigeria. The Teal process employed at GL1K, achieves the temperature gradient using a single refrigerant fluid containing Nitrogen and hydrocarbons of the same nature as those contained in the natural gas to be liquefied. ‘Air Products to Provide Proprietary Technology for Largest LNG Facility in Algeria’, Killajoules website, Country (required) United StatesArubaAfghanistanAngolaAlbaniaAndorraUnited Arab EmiratesArgentinaArmeniaAmerican SamoaAntigua and BarbudaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBurundiBelgiumBeninBurkina FasoBangladeshBulgariaBahrainBahamasBosnia and HerzegovinaBelarusBelizeBermudaBolivia, Plurinational State ofBrazilBarbadosBrunei DarussalamBhutanBotswanaCentral African RepublicCanadaSwitzerlandChileChinaCôte d’IvoireCameroonCongo, the Democratic Republic of theCongoCook IslandsColombiaComorosCape VerdeCosta RicaCubaCayman IslandsCyprusCzech RepublicGermanyDjiboutiDominicaDenmarkDominican RepublicAlgeriaEcuadorEgyptEritreaSpainEstoniaEthiopiaFinlandFijiFranceMicronesia, Federated States ofGabonUnited KingdomGeorgiaGhanaGuineaGambiaGuinea-BissauEquatorial GuineaGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuamGuyanaHong KongHondurasCroatiaHaitiHungaryIndonesiaIndiaIrelandIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIcelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJordanJapanKazakhstanKenyaKyrgyzstanCambodiaKiribatiSaint Kitts and NevisKorea, Republic ofKuwaitLao People’s Democratic RepublicLebanonLiberiaLibyaSaint LuciaLiechtensteinSri LankaLesothoLithuaniaLuxembourgLatviaMoroccoMonacoMoldova, Republic ofMadagascarMaldivesMexicoMarshall IslandsMacedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMaliMaltaMyanmarMontenegroMongoliaMozambiqueMauritaniaMauritiusMalawiMalaysiaNamibiaNigerNigeriaNicaraguaNetherlandsNorwayNepalNauruNew ZealandOmanPakistanPanamaPeruPhilippinesPalauPapua New GuineaPolandPuerto RicoKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofPortugalParaguayPalestine, State ofQatarRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaudi ArabiaSudanSenegalSingaporeSolomon IslandsSierra LeoneEl SalvadorSan MarinoSomaliaSerbiaSao Tome and PrincipeSurinameSlovakiaSloveniaSwedenSwazilandSeychellesSyrian Arab RepublicChadTogoThailandTajikistanTurkmenistanTimor-LesteTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTuvaluTaiwan, Province of ChinaTanzania, United Republic ofUgandaUkraineUruguayUnited StatesUzbekistanSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVirgin Islands, U.S.Viet NamVanuatuSamoaYemenSouth AfricaZambiaZimbabwe.
In addition to LNG, the plant can deliver 165,000 Ton/year Ethane, 208,000 Ton/year Propane, 171,000 Ton/year Butane and 109,000 Ton/year Gasoline. The accident incapacitated three LNG lines, impacted approximately 2% of the world’s liquefaction capacity and resulted in 27 fatalities. Shortly thereafter, in 1972, the company launched the Skikda LNG plant (GL1K) to export LNG, Ethane, Propane, Butane and Natural Gasoline. Bourguet J.M. Our team puts in the time and effort to evaluate every comment we receive.

In 1964, the company started production at La Camel LNG (Arzew – GL4Z), the first LNG plant operational in the world. On January 19, 2004, an explosion at the Skikda LNG plant consumed 23 lives and left 74 injured. LNG Liquefaction Facility, Skikda, Algeria – Explosion Investigation. Sonatrach said there were four injuries from the fire that spread through pipelines carrying natural gas into the complex known as GLZ from Hassi R'mel gas field in the south. Initial reports suggested a fault in one of the boilers, however, investigations indicated that a large vapour cloud of hydrocarbons released from a pipe, was ignited during the accident.

GL1Z is one of three LNG complexes in Arzew, where natural gas is chilled from vapour until it condenses into liquid to be transported by ships to markets in Asia and the United States. After the last expansion, the refrigerant fluid comes back to the compressor at two different suction pressures (5,1 bar and 0,6 bar). "Sonatrach has decided to halt completely the production at GL1Z complex after it was confirmed that the resumption of production currently could cause ‘safety problems’ after close investigation of the equipment and pipelines that were affected by the force of the explosions," Algeria's newspaper El Khabar reported. The explosions and fire destroyed a portion of the LNG plant and caused 27 deaths, 74 injuries, and material damage outside the plant’s boundaries. A single compressor was selected instead of a combination of multiple units employed at La CAMEL. Exponent conducted a three-week inspection of the Skikda facility, which included non-destructive observation and documentation, review of operation documents, maintenance reports and performing interviews of employees and technical staff. This caused the boiler to explode.

Sonatrach told its clients the Arzew "incident" would  have no effect on the production capacity of the GL1Z complex. The incident was the worst accident recorded in the history of LNG. In 1972, when GL1K began operations at Skikda, it was the largest LNG plant in the world. The two remaining units, known as trains 5P and 6P, were situated on the west side of the storage tanks and so were not affected by the explosion or the subsequent fire. The field is not only the largest in Algeria, but also one of the largest in the world. Skikda, Algeria: A steam boiler that was part of an LNG production plant exploded, triggering a second, more massive vapor-cloud explosion and fire. ‘Optimization Of Skikda LNG Plant Operation Using A Mixed Non-Linear Programming Model’, 14th International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG 14), Doha, Qatar, March 2004 6.
Bramoullé Y. et al. In this project, we will brief about rising risk factors while dealing with LNG vapor such as fire and explosion. Sonatrach attributed the explosion to an accident at a steam boiler. The plant was constructed in 3 phases, with the first phase involving 3 trains of approximately 1 MMTPA capacity each (dubbed Skikda GL1K – units 10, 20 & 30). In 1956, the enormous Hassi R’Mel gas field was discovered in Algeria, with gas production commencing in 1961. GL1Z has a production capacity of 7.9 million tonnes per year.