South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has developed a design for what it says is a next-generation floating liquefied natural gas production facility (FLNG).
The shipbuilder is aiming at field developers who want “quick and efficient development”. The unit described as a nearshore multipurpose LNG floater has received approval in principle from class society DNV at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.
SHI said the vessel standardises the geometries of LNG cargos as well as the widths and heights of the hulls surrounding them, allowing the cargo capacity to be readily increased from 180,000 cu m to 245,000 cu m. It is also designed with a structure to support about 50,000 tons of upper plant facilities including natural gas liquefaction modules. Some of these designs will be applied to Petronas FLNG unit.
FLNG sector is poised for $35bn in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract awards through to the end of 2027. In view of investments last year and planned investments expected between 2023 and 2027, energy market research and consultancy firm Westwood estimated 18.3 mtpa of additional FLNG capacity to come on stream by 2027, with an associated EPC award value of $13bn. A further 36.5 mtpa capacity is anticipated onstream after 2027 from FLNG units sanctioned through the end of 2027, with an EPC value of $22bn.
Although FLNGs offer cost efficiencies compared to onshore LNG alternatives, operators have typically opted to wait for favourable conditions to progress these multi-billion-dollar projects. With gas prices hitting record highs in 2022 and Europe striving to reduce dependence on Russian pipeline gas imports, the time is nigh for the stuttering FLNG industry to fully bloom, noted Westwood.
SHI has won four out of five new orders for FLNG vessels placed worldwide, showing unrivaled competitiveness in the field, and is expecting additional orders for projects currently under discussion. Shell Prelude, built by the company in 2017, is the world’s largest existing FLNG.
