Dragon LNG is one of the three operational liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the UK. The facility, located in Waterston, Milford Haven, Wales, comprises LNG receiving, storage, reliquefication, regasification and send-out facilities.
It was built with a nameplate capacity of 5.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) or about 7.6 billion cubic metres (bcm) per annum. The terminal is capable of delivering up to 9bcm of gas per year into the UK’s National Transmission System (NTS), equivalent to around 10% of the country’s annual gas demand.
Dragon LNG was built on a site was previously home to the Gulf Oil Refinery, which ceased operations in 1997. In the early 2000s, plans were initiated to redevelop the site into an LNG terminal.
Construction works began in 2004, and the terminal became fully operational in 2009.
Dragon LNG Ownership
Originally, Dragon LNG was jointly owned by BG Group (50%) and Petronas (50%), with 4Gas acting as the project developer. BG Group later became part of Royal Dutch Shell following a £47bn acquisition completed in 2016.
In 2019, infrastructure investment firm Ancala Partners acquired Petronas’s 50% stake in the terminal. Although Petronas no longer holds an equity interest, it retains long-term terminal access through a capacity agreement.
In August 2024, Ancala completed the sale of its 50% stake in Dragon LNG to energy infrastructure company VTTI. Shell continues to hold the remaining stake in the terminal.
Dragon LNG Infrastructure
The Dragon LNG terminal features a deep-water jetty and it is capable of berthing LNG carriers with capacities of up to 217,500 cubic metres, including Q-Flex class vessels. It has two full-containment LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of 160,000m³.
The regasification facilities have a send-out capability of up to 9 billion cubic metres per year, feeding directly into the UK’s National Transmission System via a high-pressure pipeline.
The terminal has the capacity to receive approximately 96 LNG cargoes annually, depending on vessel size and regasification schedules.
A reliquefaction plant was completed in 2018, enabling this facility to maintain zero-send out indefinitely.
Operations
LNG arrives at the Dragon LNG terminal from global sources aboard purpose-built, twin-hulled carriers. The terminal’s jetty is equipped with three unloading arms, allowing a maximum unloading rate of 12,000 cubic metres per hour. A full cargo can be discharged in roughly 18 hours.
Once unloaded, LNG is transferred into two full-containment storage tanks. These tanks consist of an inner shell made of 9% nickel steel to withstand cryogenic temperatures, encased in an outer concrete structure for insulation and impact protection. LNG is stored at approximately -160°C.
From the tanks, LNG is moved via low-pressure pumps to the process area, where any boil-off gas (BOG) generated during storage is managed by the reliquefaction unit. This facility compresses and re-liquefies the BOG, returning it to the storage tanks and reducing gas losses.
Regasification is carried out using a submerged combustion vaporiser (SCV), which heats the LNG back to its gaseous state—around 5°C—before it enters the National Transmission System (NTS) at a pressure of approximately 90barg, using high-pressure pumps.
Prior to the installation of the reliquefaction plant, BOG was combusted in three gas turbines, auxiliary boilers, and a steam turbine generator, collectively producing around 50MW of electricity. The SCV process, which uses combustion for heat generation, can result in emissions of up to 250,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.
Contractors Involved
Whessoe Oil & Gas and Volker Stevin Construction Europe joint venture won the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build of LNG storage tanks, process facilities, and supporting infrastructure.
MW Kellogg (now part of KBR) also contributed technical and engineering support during the terminal’s construction phase, while Wärtsilä delivered the BOG handling package for the terminal.
Civil engineering and facilities management company Austwel has supported Dragon LNG since the early 1980s, before its transition from oil refinery to LNG terminal. In 2023, Austwel secured a renewed long-term partnership contract to continue infrastructure maintenance and engineering services.
Anesco designed and delivered the solar farm project at the Dragon LNG site.
Worley won a contract to assess the technical viability of integrating LNG regasification with CO₂ liquefaction, supporting the Dragon LNG site’s decarbonisation roadmap.
In December 2023, AtkinsRéalis won a contract to conduct a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for the MUST Project, which could connect the terminal to other industrial assets and energy networks in the region.
Recent Initiatives
In recent years, Dragon LNG has taken several steps to reduce its carbon footprint and align with the UK’s net-zero targets:
In June 2022, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Dragon LNG Group solar project was held. The 10MW facility was commissioned in March 2023. The project consists of 18,500 solar panels and provides around 9% of the terminal’s electricity needs, cutting annual CO₂ emissions by approximately 2,500 tonnes.
Alongside energy firm RWE, Dragon LNG is working on a project to enable non-pipeline CO₂ transport from industrial sites in South Wales. The project could allow captured CO₂ to be shipped from Milford Haven to permanent storage sites.
Dragon LNG has also received planning approval to install three wind turbines at its Renewables Energy Park at Waterston. The additional renewable energy capacity is expected to become operational by the fourth quarter of 2026.
The terminal operates under a long-term customer agreement. It has initiated an Expression of Interest (EOI) process for its 9bcm/year capacity, which will become available from September 2029.
