Patent ID: 8480788

Claim:
A method of accommodating a pig-slug mass in a first pipeline upstream of a first slugcatcher system comprising the steps of: (a) passing a first multi-phase stream along, a first pipeline and through a first slugcatcher system arranged to provide a first gaseous component stream and at least one first liquid component stream: (b) passing a second multi-phase stream through a second pipeline and a second slugcatcher system arranged to provide a second gaseous component stream and at least one second liquid component stream; (c) passing a first pig down the first pipeline to create a first pig-slug mass in the first pipeline; (d) passing at least a fraction of the first multi-phase stream upstream of the first pig-slug mass to the second pipeline along a crossover line; and (e) selectively combining the first gaseous component stream and the second gaseous component stream downstream of the first and second slugcatcher systems; (f) treating one or both of the first and second gaseous component streams to provide one or more gaseous component streams selected from the group consisting of natural gas liquids, natural gas and LNG, the treating comprising: (i) passing one or both of the first and second gaseous component streams to an NGL recovery system to provide an NGL stream and a methane-enriched overhead stream; (ii) compressing the methane-enriched overhead stream in one or more compressors to provide a methane-compressed stream; (iii) liquefying the methane-compressed stream in a liquefaction system to provide a first liquefied stream; (iv) expanding the first liquefied stream in an expansion device to provide a final mixed-phase stream; and (v) separating the final mixed-phase stream in an end gas/liquid separator to provide a LNG stream, and an end gaseous stream.