Petronas' first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility officially received its name, PFLNG Satu, at a ceremony held at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in Okpo, South Korea.
President and group CEO of Petronas, Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said that the FLNG facility signified a breakthrough achievement not only for the company but also for Malaysia.
“PFLNG Satu is a testament to the engineering capabilities of Petronas and its partners,” he said. “We have pushed the boundaries and turned our technological aspirations of having an LNG plant on a floating vessel into reality.”
It will be a game changer in the global LNG business as it paves the way for opportunities to monetize gas resources from remote, marginal and stranded fields, which would otherwise be uneconomical to develop via conventional means.
The facility will be moored at Malaysia’s Kanowit gas field, 180km offshore Sarawak and has the capacity to produce 1.2 MTPA of LNG. It will play a significant role in Petronas' efforts to unlock gas reserves in Malaysia's remote and stranded fields
President and CEO of DSME, Sung Leep Jung said this project has been a remarkable experience for Petronas and the DSME and Technip consortium. “This achievement, coupled with HSE record of 17 million hours of no lost time injuries is indeed a significant feat for the partnership,” Jung noted.
PFLNG SATU will be ready for sail away in Q2 2016. Meanwhile, Petronas has decided to delay its PFLNG 2 project due to lower revenue and profit last year. The firm is also looking to eliminate 1000 jobs as part of its organizational restructure.
With a capacity of producing 1.5 MTPA of LNG in 500-1500m water depth, PFLNG2 is designed to tap natural gas potential in the Murphy Oil-operated Rotan field, 130km offshore Sabah. The company originally planned for PFLNG 2 to be commissioned in 2018.