Floating liquefied natural gas explained

A floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility is a floating production storage and offloading unit that conducts liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations for developing offshore natural gas resources. Floating above an offshore natural gas field, the FLNG facility produces liquefied stores and transfers LNG (and potentially LPG and condensate) at sea before carriers ship it directly to markets.

Recent developments in liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry require relocation of conventional LNG processing units (or trains) into the sea to unlock remote, smaller gas fields that would not be economical to develop otherwise, reduce capital expenses, and impact to environment, using these new types of FLNG facilities.[1] Unlike floating production storage and offloading units (FPSOs), they will also allow full scale deep processing, as onshore LNG plant does[2] but reduces to 25% of its footprint. The first 3 FLNG's were constructed in 2016: Prelude FLNG (Shell), PFLNG1 and PFLNG2 (Petronas).

History

Studies into offshore LNG production have been conducted since the early 1970s, but it was only in the mid-1990s that significant research backed by experimental development began.[3]

In 1997, Mobil developed an FLNG production concept based on a large, square structure 540x with a moonpool in the center,[4] commonly known as "The Doughnut".The Mobil proposal was sized to produce LNG per year produced from per year of feed gas, with storage provided on the structure for 250000m2 of LNG and 103000m2 of condensate.[4]

In 1999, a major study was commissioned as a joint project by Chevron Corporation and several other oil and gas companies.[5] This was closely followed by the so-called 'Azure' research project, conducted by the EU and several oil and gas companies.[6] Both projects made progress in steel and concrete hull design, a new development with LNG transfer systems.[3]

Projects in 2010-2020

Royal Dutch Shell

In July 2009, Royal Dutch Shell, or just Shell, signed an agreement with Technip and Samsung allowing for the design, construction and installation of multiple Shell FLNG facilities.[7]

Royal Dutch Shell announced a 12 billion AUD (8.71 billion USD) investment on 20 May 2011 to build Prelude FLNG. Construction began in October 2012.[8] Prelude became the world's first FLNG facility, anchored off the shore of Western Australia.[9]

In April 2010, Shell announced that it had been selected to develop the Greater Sunrise gas fields in the Timor Sea, making it Shell's second FLNG facility after Prelude.[10] The project was scheduled to begin processing gas in 2016.[11]

Petronas

In February 2011, Petronas awarded a FEED contract for an FLNG unit to a consortium of Technip and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering[12] for a facility in Malaysia.[13] It installed its first FLNG, PFLNG Satu, in the Kanowit gas field off the shore of Sarawak, Malaysia. It loaded its first cargo was onto the 150,200-cbm Seri Camellia LNG carrier on 3 April 2017.[14] [15]

Planned projects

Petrobras invited three consortiums to submit proposals for engineering, procurement and construction contracts for FLNG plants in the ultra-deep Santos Basin waters during 2009. A final investment decision was expected in 2011.[16]

, Japan's Inpex planned to use FLNGs to develop the Abadi gas field in the Masela block of the Timor Sea, with a final investment decision expected by the end of 2013.[17] Late in 2010, Inpex deferred start-up by two years to 2018 and reduce its "first phase" capacity to 2.5 million tons per year (from a previously proposed capacity of 4.5 million tonnes).

, Chevron Corporation was considering an FLNG facility to develop offshore discoveries in the Exmouth Plateau of Western Australia,[18] while in 2011, ExxonMobil was waiting for an appropriate project to launch its FLNG development.[19]

According to a presentation given by their engineers at GASTECH 2011, ConocoPhillips aimed to implement a facility by 2016–19, and had completed the quantitative risk analysis of a design that would undergo pre-FEED study during the remainder of 2011.[20]

GDF Suez Bonaparte – a joint venture undertaken by the Australian oil and gas exploration company Santos (40%) and the French multi-international energy company GDF Suez (60%) – initialled awarded a pre-FEED contract for the Bonaparte FLNG project offshore Northern Australia. The first phase of the project calls for a floating LNG production facility with a capacity of 2 million mt/year, with a final investment decision is expected in 2014 and startup planned for 2018.[21] However, in June 2014, GDF Suez and Santos Limited made a decision to halt development. A part of the decision included the perception that long-term capabilities of North American gas fields due to hydraulic fracturing technologies and increasing Russian export capabilities would adversely affect the profitability of the venture due to competition.

In October 2016, Exmar NV performance tested a facility designed by Black & Veatch. The facility has a single liquefaction train that can produce 72 million cubic feet a day of LNG.[22]

On 4 June 2018, Golar LNG announced that their FLNG Hilli Episeyo had got a customer acceptance after successfully being tested in 16 days commissioning. FLNG Hilli Episeyo will serve Parenco Cameroon SA in Cameroon's water. FLNG Hilli Episeyo is designed by Black & Veatch and was built in Keppel Shipyard in Singapore.[23]

Fortuna FLNG, to be commissioned in 2020, is owned by a joint venture between Ophir Energy and Golar LNG is under development in Equatorial Guinea. When operational, it is expected to produce around 2.2 million tonnes per year of gas and to be the first FLNG to operate in Africa.[24]

Challenges

Moving LNG production to an offshore setting presents a demanding set of challenges. In terms of the design and construction of the FLNG facility, every element of a conventional LNG facility needs to fit into an area roughly one quarter the size, whilst maintaining appropriate levels of safety and giving increased flexibility to LNG production.[25]

Once a facility is in operation, ocean waves will present another major challenge.[26] LNG containment systems need to be capable of withstanding the damage that can occur when the sea's wave and current motions cause sloshing in the partly filled tanks. Product transfers also need to deal with the effects of winds, waves and currents in the open seas.[4]

Solutions to reduce the effect of motion and weather are addressed in the design, which must be capable of withstanding – and even reducing – the impact of waves. In this area, technological development has been mainly evolutionary rather than revolutionary, leveraging and adapting technologies that are currently applied to offshore oil production or onshore liquefaction. For example, traditional LNG loading arms have been adapted to enable LNG transfers in open water, and hose-based solutions for both side-by-side transfers in calmer seas and tandem transfers in rougher conditions are nearing fruition.[27]

Advantages

Among fossil fuels, natural gas is relatively clean burning.[28] It is also abundant, and has been affordable[29] most of the time. It may be able to meet some of the world's energy needs by realising the potential of otherwise unviable gas reserves (several of which can be found offshore North West Australia).[30] FLNG technology also provides a number of environmental and economic advantages:

Operation

The FLNG facility will be moored directly above the natural gas field. It will route gas from the field to the facility via risers.[35] When the gas reaches the facility, it will be processed to produce natural gas, LPG, and natural gas condensate. The processed feed gas will be treated to remove impurities, and liquefied through freezing, before being stored in the hull. Ocean-going carriers will offload the LNG, as well as the other liquid by-products, for delivery to markets worldwide.[36]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A REVOLUTION IN NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION . Shell . 2015-12-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160108164426/http://www.shell.com/about-us/major-projects/prelude-flng/a-revolution-in-natural-gas-production.html . 2016-01-08 .
  2. Web site: Why FLNG? . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160108164427/http://www.shell.com.au/aboutshell/who-we-are/shell-au/operations/upstream/prelude/why-flng.html . 2016-01-08 . 2015-12-30 . Shell Australia.
  3. Web site: Offshore LNG Production, How to Make it Happen - LNG Review 2005 . 20 May 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090801000955/http://www.touchoilandgas.com/offshore-production-happen-review-a465-1.html . 1 August 2009 .
  4. Web site: Mobil's Floating LNG Plant . 1998 . 2014-12-30.
  5. Web site: Offshore LNG Production – How to Make it Happen . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111001092033/http://www.touchbriefings.com/pdf/1482/ACF58D.pdf . 1 October 2011 . 20 May 2011.
  6. Web site: Article by John Bradbury . Floaters considered for stranded gas . Epmag.com . 2001-05-01 . 2011-06-10 . 4 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111004210415/http://www.epmag.com/archives/print/3666.htm . dead .
  7. Web site: Shell awards floating LNG contracts to Technip and Samsung . Technip . 2009-07-28 . 2011-06-10 . 2 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111002060103/http://www.technip.com/en/press/shell-awards-floating-lng-contracts-technip-and-samsung . dead .
  8. Web site: $12bn Prelude floating plant has Shell fired for LNG . 28 October 2012 . The Australian.
  9. Web site: 2014-04-07 . PETRONAS launches hull of its first floating LNG facility . 2014-09-17 . Petronas.com.my.
  10. Web site: Shell floating LNG technology chosen by joint venture for Greater Sunrise project - Shell Worldwide. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110529042931/http://www.shell.com/home/content/media/news_and_media_releases/archive/2010/flng_technology_greater_sunrise_29042010.html . 29 May 2011. 2011-06-10. Shell.com.
  11. News: Kelly. Ross . 19 June 2014. GDF Suez, Santos Halt Innovative LNG Plan in Australia : Companies Say Offshore Conversion Project Not Commercially Viable. The Wall Street Journal. 30 December 2014. The decision highlights the risks confronting Australian gas-export projects as they grapple with high costs and competition from North America and Russia, which are vying to provide Asian utilities with cleaner-burning fuels. Confidence in "floating" liquefied natural gas may also be diminishing—two years before a Royal Dutch Shell PLC-owned vessel is due to begin processing gas for the first time..
  12. Web site: Technip, Daewoo win FEED contract on Petronas' FLNG vessel offshore Malaysia. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160406173806/http://asiatopnews.net/25020/technip-daewoo-win-feed-contract-on-petronas-flng-vessel-offshore-malaysia/ . 6 April 2016. 2011-06-10. Asia Top News.
  13. Web site: 2011-02-01. awarded a key engineering contract for an FLNG in Malaysia. 2011-06-10. Technip. 2 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111002060122/http://www.technip.com/en/press/technip-awarded-key-engineering-contract-flng-malaysia. dead.
  14. News: Malaysia's Petronas in FLNG first. en-US. LNG World News. 2018-02-20.
  15. Web site: Petronas' PFLNG Satu produces first LNG offshore Malaysia. 9 December 2016. 3 July 2017. 22 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170322111550/http://www.lngworldnews.com/petronas-pflng-satu-produces-first-lng-offshore-malaysia/. dead.
  16. Web site: 2009-12-21. Petrobras dishes out FLNG FEEDs. 2011-06-10. Upstream Online.
  17. News: 21 December 2010. UPDATE 1-Inpex delays Indonesia LNG output start by 2 years | Reuters. Uk.reuters.com. 2011-06-10.
  18. Web site: 2010-11-03. Chevron considers floating LNG plant. 2011-06-10. The Australian.
  19. Web site: Guegel. Anthony . 2011-05-03. ExxonMobil in icy innovation. 2011-06-10. Upstream Online.
  20. Web site: Belanak FPSO – 5 years of Successful Operation and Its Application to Floating LNG. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324113146/http://www.kgu.or.kr/download.php?tb=bbs_017&fn=SESSION_10_(TECHNIAL)___Paul_Davies_ConocoPhillips.pdf&rn=SESSION_10_(TECHNIAL)___Paul_Davies_ConocoPhillips.pdf . 24 March 2012. 30 December 2014. Kgu.or.kr.
  21. Web site: Pre-FEED contracts awarded for Bonaparte LNG. 30 December 2014. Santos.com. 24 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924094303/http://www.santos.com/library/100111_Pre_FEED_contracts_awarded_for_Bonaparte_LNG.pdf. dead.
  22. News: EconoTimes. Black & Veatch PRICO SMR Becomes World's First Proven FLNG Technology to Achieve Production on a Floating Facility - EconoTimes. EconoTimes. 2016-10-20.
  23. Web site: News.
  24. Web site: The rise of FLNG - NGW Magazine.
  25. Web site: Commercial and Technical Considerations in the Developments of Offshore Liquefaction Plant . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110812201942/http://www.igu.org/html/wgc2006pres/data/wgcppt/pdf/PGC%20Programme%20Committees/PGC%20D/Safety%20and%20technology%20developments%20in%20LNG%20plants%2C%20terminals%20and%20vessels/9.3EF.06.pdf . 12 August 2011 . 20 May 2011.
  26. Web site: The Netherlands: FLNG Vessel as Safe as any Other Offshore Facility, Shell Says >> . LNG World News . 2010-10-21 . 2011-06-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110405120208/http://www.lngworldnews.com/the-netherlands-flng-vessel-as-safe-as-any-other-offshore-facility-shell-says/ . 5 April 2011 . dead.
  27. Web site: A BREAKTHROUGH FOR FLOATING LNG?. Laohamutuk.org. 30 December 2014.
  28. Web site: Natural Gas: Cleanest Burning Fossil Fuel Understand the numbers behind the claim. Ngsa.org. 30 December 2014. 1 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150501032426/http://www.ngsa.org/download/issues/NGCleanestBurningFossilFuel.pdf. dead.
  29. Web site: Natural Gas: Clean, Quality, Cheap, Domestic, & Abundant . 2011-04-26 . 2011-06-10.
  30. Web site: Prelude LNG Development to Deploy Shell's FLNG Technology . 9 October 2009 . Offshore-industry.eu . 2011-06-10.
  31. Web site: Shell receives green light for Prelude FLNG — SEAAOC 2011 . Seaaoc.com . 2010-11-12 . 2011-06-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120325160619/http://www.seaaoc.com/news-old/shell-receives-green-light-for-prelude-flng . 25 March 2012 . dead.
  32. Web site: The Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Market 2011-2021 - Report - Energy . visiongain . 2011-01-28 . 2011-06-10.
  33. Web site: Assessment of the fuel cycle impact of liquefied natural gas as used in international shipping. Theicct.org. 6 June 2014.
  34. Web site: Gas at the gates of oil's transport fuel citadel . 6 June 2014 . dead . https://archive.today/20140606141417/http://208.175.66.104/article/2013/01/24/energy-transportfuel-corre-idINL6N0ATD8K20130124 . 6 June 2014.
  35. Web site: Microsoft PowerPoint - Disconnectable and Relocatable Riser System Solution for FLNG in Harsh Environment.ppt . 2hoffshore.com . 2011-06-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110902221200/http://www.2hoffshore.com/documents/papers/Disconnectable%20and%20Relocatable%20Riser%20System%20Solution%20for%20FLNG%20in%20Harsh%20Environment.pdf . 2 September 2011 . dead.
  36. Web site: Shell Booklet-blank pgs in.indd . Static.shell.com . 2011-06-10 . 29 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110929062413/http://www-static.shell.com/static/aus/downloads/about_shell/prelude/completeeisdoclowres.pdf . dead .

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