KUALA LUMPUR (March 7): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas)’s first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, which is expected to be operational in the second quarter this year, will have the capacity to produce 1.2 million tonnes of LNG per year.
This LNG facility, which has been named as PFLNG SATU, will be moored at Malaysia’s Kanowit gas field, 180 kilometres offshore Sarawak, and will play a significant role in Petronas’ efforts to unlock the gas reserves in Malaysia's remote and stranded fields.
Petronas’ president and group chief executing officer (CEO) Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said that the floating LNG facility signified a breakthrough achievement not only for the company but also for Malaysia.
“The PFLNG SATU is a testament to the engineering capabilities of Petronas and its partners. Today, we have pushed the boundaries and turned our technological aspirations of having an LNG plant on a floating vessel into reality,” he said after a naming ceremony held by Petronas, together with its strategic partners Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd (DSME) and Technip, at the DSME shipyard here in Okpo, South Korea.
According to Wan Zulkiflee, the floating LNG facility is a significant achievement and a game changer in the global LNG business as it paves the way for opportunities to monetise gas resources from remote, marginal and stranded fields, which would otherwise be uneconomical to develop via conventional means.
“The floating LNG facility will support Petronas’ global LNG portfolio and enhance its reputation as a preferred and reliable LNG supplier,” he said.
Meanwhile, DSME president and CEO Sung Leep Jung said in a speech earlier that this project has been a remarkable experience for Petronas and the DSME/Technip consortium and today marks the successful completion of construction for PFLNG SATU, and this achievement, coupled with HSE record of 17 million hours of No Lost Time Injuries is indeed a significant feat for the partnership.
“We have built a trustful and long term-relationship with Petronas over the years and are very proud today, with our partner DSME, to have met the challenges of this game-changing project,” Technip’s chairman and CEO Thierry Pilenko added in a speech.