Regional LNG: Petronas launches hull for second floating LNG facility

By Romel S. Gurky

Malaysia?s Petronas marked another construction milestone for its second floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, the Petronas Floating LNG2 (PFLNG2) with the official launch of the hull at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje Island, South Korea, on April 30, 2016.

The 393-metre-long hull was floated out from the Green Dock 3 to anchor at the quayside of the SHI shipyard signifying the near completion of the hull construction which commenced in June 2015.

Petronas? Advisor of Global LNG Project ? Project Delivery and Technology, Abdullah Karim said in a statement issued on Tuesday that the construction of PFLNG2 has tapped on the experiences from PFLNG Satu to broaden Petronas? floating LNG capabilities for deep-water operations.

?We take great pride in achieving this important milestone. The many lessons learnt from the design and construction of PFLNG Satu have been applied to PFLNG2. I look forward to the successful completion of PFLNG2 and must thank the project team JGC and SHI for the good job,? added Karim.

Both PFLNG Satu and PFLNG2 are anticipated to be significant game changers in the LNG business landscape as they pave the way to unlocking gas reserves from remote, marginal and stranded gas fields, which would otherwise be uneconomical to develop.

Petronas? Vice President of Group Project Delivery ? Project Delivery and Technology, Zakaria Kasah said the launch of the hull signifies an achievement as well as the commitment by Petronas for the PFLNG2 project.

?The project has a good track record and safety performance that will ensure project deliveries are met as planned,? he added.

Petronas, together with JGC Group and SHI, the consortium leading the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning of the PFLNG2, commemorated the milestone with a pledge to deliver the PFLNG2 on schedule with safety as top priority.

Once completed PFLNG2 has a collective weight of 134,000 tons and will enable the liquefaction, production and offloading processing of natural gas in the Rotan field, 240 kilometers offshore Sabah.

Designed for water-depth between 500 metres to 1500 metres deep and a processing capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), PFLNG2 will strengthen Petronas? global LNG portfolio and add to its reputation as a preferred and reliable LNG supplier.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak