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Everything you need to know about FLNG

by Andrew Connolly
20/11/2019
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With the global demand for Liquefied Natural Gas building year on year, we look at some of the latest, largest
technology that is allowing companies to take advantage of previously unreachable gas fields. This is everything
you need to know about Floating Liquefied Natural Gas vessels.

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What is an FLNG?

Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) systems are entire facilities that deal with the offshore storage,
processing and transport of LNG. These massive vessels use the same systems as land-based LNG plants,
meaning gas can be processed closer to the source without having to lay miles of pipelines to get the gas to the
nearest coastal facility. Being able to process this opens up massive new potential sources, miles out to sea, that
would previously have been too difficult or costly to take advantage of.

(Image via Shell)

Benefits of LNG

LNG facilities extract natural gas that has been trapped deep underground and supercool it to a clear, non-toxic
liquid. This reduces its volume 600 times, meaning it can be shipped more easily and more safely to
regasification plants around the world. These plants convert it back in to a flammable gas which can then be
burned to generate heat and electricity.

Natural gas is one of the cleanest and safest energy sources currently available. When burned it produces half
the amount of CO2 as coal, and less than 10% of air pollutants. With renewable sources failing to meet energy
needs, gas is the cleanest economically viable method of producing power.

Over the last few years, demand for natural gas has risen dramatically. In 2000, less than 100 million tonnes of
LNG per year was being produced. In 2017 that was 284 million tonnes and in 2018 it’s expected to rise to 308
million tonnes. Growing reliance on the fuel in Asia and Africa follows a surge in production in the US,
meaning usage is expected to continue rising over the next few years. Therefore it is essential to develop new
technologies to reach greater gas fields out to sea.
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FLNG facilities also have their own environmental benefits over land-based plants. Being able to store extracted
gas on a facility near the field reduces the need for onshore construction and excessively long pipelines. With a
lifespan of over 20 years, FLNGs can be redeployed to other fields once they have depleted the gas source -
reducing the need for further construction.

Developing an FLNG raises its own challenges. For the system to be viable, they must include all the same
facilities as a land-based LNG plant, allowing them to maximise their output. Even though engineers have
managed to fit all the necessary components in to a space a quarter of the size of the land-based plants, they are
still the largest floating vessels in the world.

The massive increase in demand of LNG over the last few years has allowed more FLNG projects to be started,
with up to 22 vessels expected to be active by 2022, and more planned in the future.

(Image via Shell)

How does an FLNG work?

Natural gas is extracted from the the seabed and transported through flowlines to the nearby FLNG. While
onboard the vessel it will be treated and liquefied - a process that involves supercooling the gas to -160 degrees
C to turn it in to a liquid.

The liquid gas is then stored on the vessel in tanks, until it is transferred to LNG carriers who can transport to
processing plants.

The major FLNG Projects

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(Image via Shell)

Prelude FLNG
Owned by Shell, the Prelude FLNG is the biggest floating structure ever built. The $14bn craft has a length of
488 metres - longer than four football fields. It was moved into position over the Prelude gas field, 120 miles off
the coast of Western Australia, in December 2017. When up and running it will have the capacity for 1.2 million
tonnes of LNG per year, with a storage equivalent of 175 olympic swimming pools.

(Image via Petronas)

Petronas FLNG 1 & 2

These sister ships are each located off the coast of Malaysia.

Petronas 1 was the world’s first FLNG to start producing - achieving first gas in December 2016 and delivering
its first payload to South Korea in March 2017. It has a capacity to produce 1.2 million tonnes of LNG per year.
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Petronas 2 is expected to produce first gas from the Rotan field, 150 miles offshore Sabah, in 2020. It is bigger
than PFLNG 1, with a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year.

(Image via Eni)

Eni - Coral FLNG

The Coral FLNG is a project run by the Italian oil company Eni, which is due to begin LNG production in
2022. Components are being built in South Korea and Singapore, with the completed project taking place in
Area 4, offshore Mozambique. This mammoth vessel will have the capacity for an incredible 3.4 million tonnes
of LNG per year.

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(Image via Macleans)

The future of FLNG

With LNG demand continuing to rise, and FLNG facilities demonstrating a viable and economical way to
produce gas from previously unattainable places, more projects are planned around the world over the next
decade.

The most sought after area is offshore Australia, with up to 14 potential FLNG projects currently being
considered. Further projects are in various stages of development throughout oceans and seas off the coasts of
Canada, China, Western Africa, Brazil, the West coast of America and South Asian islands. Up to 40 projects
are in consideration, with up to 22 vessels expected to be in place by 2022.

(Image via Eni)

Economic benefits
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With so many projects in the pipeline globally, the economic benefits are huge. Global energy demand is
expected to be 37% higher in 2040 than it is now, and LNG is the fastest growing resource. Demand for natural
gas was up by 24 million tonnes per annum between 2017 and 2018, and is expected to keep rising until 2021.

With the ability of FLNG facilities to reach more remote fields, this technology is the leading way to ensure that
supply can match the demand. Shell’s Prelude FLNG alone is expected to create 1000 new jobs in Australia -
with further projects on the horizon we should see plenty more job availability over the next decade.

Looking to work in FLNG?

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Recent Comments

Nice comprehensive information on present and future FLNG

Sivakumar Chandran, 19 October 2018

Interesting,a valiable and economically way to produce gas.

Robert Ligas, 20 October 2018

Very good

Insu Juen, 20 October 2018

FYI

Marcello , 23 October 2018

I hope i will get chance to work in your company and do my best safely ...have alook in my CV in
attached file... Regards, Zaid

Zaid Rafeeq, 24 October 2018

Nice comprehensive information on present and future FLNG... I hope i will get chance to work in
your company and do my best safely ...have alook in my CV in attached file ASAP... Regards, Syed
Farhan Eqbal

Syed Farhan Eqbal, 24 October 2018

Good information. Looking forward to have the FLNG in Kenya.

kennedy muriiki, 22 November 2018

This information is not easily available

Edgar, 20 November 2019

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 Well explanatory and thought out.

Michael Akintan, 21 November 2019

Really nice article! Thank you for information!

Rustam, 22 November 2019

Thailand did not include in this FLNG.

Poonsak Klintip, 26 November 2019

You miss that Petronas was first with Satu, Golar LNG with second Hilli Episeyo. Article is quite
tin...

HellasLNG, 31 December 2019

The First FLNG in the world is Caribbean FLNG now called Tango FLNG in Argentina.It was
delivered in 2017.

Alexandre, 15 April 2020

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