Abstract: Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the liquid state of natural gas (NG), useful for transport/storage since LNG occupies about 1/600th the volume of NG, when the latter is in the gaseous state under normal conditions. The usage of LNG is justified either in absence of NG-pipeline network or as a supplementary source of NG after regasification.
The objective of this lecture is to present a methodological framework, under the form of a logical flowchart with activity stages and decision nodes, enabling energy managers/engineers to (i) select the best site for establishing a LNG facility, (ii) choose provider through supply side analysis, (iii) forecast NG consumption through demand side analysis, (iv) optimize installation capacity by considering scale economies in this special case of cryogenic transport/storage. The core of the algorithmic procedure, forming the backbone of the methodological framework mentioned above, is multicriteria analysis in its fuzzy version in order to count for uncertainty, while the criteria cover the energy/economic/environmental aspect completely. An implementation is presented concerning LNG facilities in countries of North Mediterranean Sea (demand side) which import LNG mainly from countries of South Mediterranean Sea (supply side) by means of cryogenic vessels. The lessons learnt from such analyses can be used as input to the knowledge base of the algorithmic procedure suggested herein, after suitable processing (meta-analysis).

Brief biography of the speaker:
Dr. Philip-Mark P. Spanids holds a Master of Engineering (1983) from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, a MSc in Organization and Management of Industrial Systems (2000) from the University of Piraeus and the Technical University of Athens and a PhD in Technology and Knowledge Management of Hydrocarbon Systems (2010) from the University of Piraeus. He is currently a Project Manager of ASPROFOS Engineering S.A., the greatest engineering company in Greece, in multidisciplinary projects related to the industry of transportation, storage and distribution of oil and gas. He has a long term experience, expertness and contribution in projects of the natural gas pipelines and LNG (liquefied natural gas) facilities developed in Greece, over the last 25 years. Dr Spanidis is also involved with the management of geopolitical, environmental and safety assessments of the energy systems, which are performed by the same organization, while he is a research assistant in the Department of Industrial Management and Technology of Piraeus University. The outcome of Dr. Spanidis research work is reflected in 17 publications in international scientific journals, books and international conferences.