PETRONAS Launches Hull of World's First FLNG Terminal

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--PETRONAS (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) said it has launched the hull of its first floating liquefied natural gas facility (FLNG) in Okpo, South Korea. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (KSX:042660.KS) (DSME) (Seoul, South Korea) is the main contractor for the project.

The 365-meter-long hull was floated out from a dock and launched to anchor at a DSME quayside, where the unit is being constructed. Completion is set for the fourth quarter of 2015. If the schedule is met, it would be the world's first operational FLNG. The first steel on the project was cut in June 2013.

"It is an impressive achievement that we launch the hull within a short time following the keel-laying process that began on January 6, 2014," said PETRONAS Vice President and Venture Director Datuk Abdullah Karim. "In addition, the project has achieved more than 5.5 million total safe man-hours since the project commenced in March 2012, with no occurrence of loss of time incidents at the project site."

The FLNG vessel would be moored in Malaysia's Kanowit gas field, which is located 180 kilometers offshore Sarawak, and produce 1.2 million tons of LNG annually.

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