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W
ith the first floating LNG (FLNG) facilities soon entering the commissioning stage, the question now is
how the lessons learnt from these first projects can be used to improve the next generation of FLNG.
Despite the many innovations already deployed, there are still multiple opportunities to develop the concept
further, notably to increase capacity. This must be balanced against the value of building replicas of a proven design to save
on engineering cost and schedule. With a combination of these two routes, FLNGwill ultimately contribute greatly to
reducing the cost of producing LNG from offshore gas fields compared to conventional methods.
The first, true, open sea, robust and large capacity FLNG facilities are still at quayside. All modules have been
lifted onto the hulls with integration and commissioning activities ongoing.
The LNGmarket has changed since a Final Investment Decision (FID) was taken on these projects, and
LNG prices are now at their lowest level for the last 10 years.
New concepts being proposed on the market include small scale barge mounted units,
nearshore/quayside units and tanker conversions. In this article, Technip reconsiders large FLNG
facilities and how to improve economics by building on the experience of the first wave of
projects. What is the right balance between replication (project execution efficiency) and
production intensification (economies of scale)?
Repeatability
FLNG offers the possibility of repeating the design and execution plan of a
successful project, with the promise of savings in front-end engineering
and design (FEED) time and cost, supplier costs and improvements in
execution efficiency.
Figure 1.
Petronas PFLNG 1 (
Satu
).
