Malaysian oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) cut steel for its second floating liquefied natural gas facility, the Petronas Floating LNG2 (PFLNG2), in a ceremony held on June 11 at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) Shipyard in Geoje Island, South Korea.
The steel cutting signifies the beginning of a mega construction phase of the hull and topsides of the PFLNG2, with a collective weight of 152,000 tons.
Petronas says that the second FLNG facility will make possible the liquefaction, production and offloading processing of natural gas in the Rotan field, situated in the South China Sea, some 130 kilometers offshore Sabah. The PFLNG2, with a capacity of 1.5 mtpa and designed for deep-water operations, is expected to be commissioned in 2018.
”Petronas made a bold decision in January 2014 to make its Final Investment Decision (FID) for the PFLNG2 project. The expectation is for PFLNG2 to embark on a technology solution to monetize a wider range of stranded gas fields when it is commissioned in 2018,” said Datuk Abdullah Karim, Petronas’ Vice President & Venture Director of LNG Projects – Domestic.