Petronas’ first floating LNG facility to start operating next month

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 -- PETRONAS 'PFLNG SATU’, the first of its kind technology launched recently. --fotoBERNAMA (2016) COPYRIGHT RESERVED

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is ramping up its liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity with its first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, PFLNG Satu, expected to go into commercial operation next month.

LNG assets (upstream) vice-president Adnan Zainol Abidin said as for now, the group did not have any specific clients, but if demand were to arise, priority would be given to its portfolio buyers.

“Our first cargo went to India, and next, the vessel will sit on the Kanowit gas field off Sarawak for five years, after which our development people will be looking at the next field,” he told a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

The facility, which marked the world first innovation in the LNG industry, is expected to boost Malaysia’s total LNG production capacity to 32 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

The development of PFLNG Satu began in 2010 and is scheduled for start-up in 2016 at the Kanowit gas field off Sarawak.

The floating facility fits an LNG processing train, including all its utilities and support units, which traditionally are spread across an area of about 2.5km, onto one compact 360m long and 40m wide structure.

The facility brings together the liquefaction, production, storage and offloading processes of LNG to the offshore gasfield.

Adnan said PFLNG Satu, which has a designed capacity of 1.2 million mtpa, achieved its milestone with the introduction of gas from the KAKG-A central processing platform at the field off Sarawak.

He said the facility had enabled the national oil and gas company to monetise gas resources uneconomical to develop via conventional means, an achievement for the country.

“Next, we want to stabilise our operation on the first facility and in 2020, our second vessel, PFLNG Dua is scheduled to be released,” he said.

The PFLNG Dua will be designed to produce 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year and it will be moored using an external turret and designed to operate for 20 years without drylocking.

On the outlook for the LNG industry moving forward, Adnan said the demand for LNG would continue to increase in line with the growing world population.

“The need for this clean energy will continue increasing and Asia will still be the biggest consumer... there are also new markets keen to explore on the usage of LNG, including India and Thailand,” he added. - Bernama