Pembroke Dock-based Ledwood Mechanical Engineering has begun work on a £13 million contract to expand the capacity of the largest LNG terminal in Europe, located on the Isle of Grain.

Working on behalf of a VINCI Joint Venture (EVT), Ledwood will fabricate 300 tonnes of steel and 280 linear metres of pipework before installation and testing on-site. The contract will create and safeguard up to 65 jobs.

This project will create a 190,000M3 liquified natural gas reservoir as part of the program to expand the capacity of Europe’s largest LNG terminal.

The new full containment tank, which is around the size of the Royal Albert Hall in London, will consist of a 9 per cent nickel steel inner tank with a pre-stressed concrete outer shell.

Commercial Director for Ledwood is Liam Revell who commented on the scale of the project.

“Having been instrumental in the construction of the UK’s first three LNG import terminals at South Hook, Dragon and the Isle of Grain, we provide project management, manufacture and installation of pipework, tanks and mechanical engineering for the LNG sector,” he said.

“With around 1,000,000 m3of LNG storage capacity spread across eight tanks, Grain LNG is the UK’s leading gateway connecting global LNG to the European energy market.

"It’s a world-class facility, so we are delighted to have been chosen by EVT to complete the steel structure installation and piping prefabrication for the new LNG tank so that we can tie it in with the existing facility.

“ It’s a real vote of confidence by the industry in our skills and expertise.”

Ledwood is an independent engineering, fabrication and construction company specialising in the delivery of complex projects across the oil, gas, process and energy industries.