In 2010, Petronas initiated development of a Floating LNG project to monetise stranded gas, which was previously untapped and contributed no economic value. A joint venture between Technip and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) was engaged for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) of the facility. The platform was custom-built to liquefy, produce, store and offload LNG, in remote offshore areas with limited or no surface connectivity. The integrated LNG floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) was built at the DSME Shipyard in Okpo, Korea, employing Air Products’ dual nitrogen cycle technology.
On 4th March 2016, the facility was christened PFLNG Satu. The 365 meters long and 60 meters wide platform compactly accommodates a 1.2 MMTPA LNG Train and supporting infrastructure including Front-end Mercury Removal Unit, Acid Gas Removal Unit, 100 MW Power generation (capable of powering a city of 100,000), LNG and Condensate Storage Tanks. The project cost approximately $10 billion and has a design life of 20 years. Over 132,000 tonnes of steel was used to build the floating giant.
The FLNG plant is moored at the Kanowit Gas Field, 180 km offshore Bintulu in Sarawak, Malaysia and operated by Petronas Floating LNG 1 Ltd. On 5 December 2016, the plant produced its first drop of LNG, claiming the title of the first floating LNG facility in the world, ahead of Prelude FLNG. A skilled staff of 150 personnel, which includes 10 female engineers, operates the facility. The first LNG cargo from the plant was shipped on 1 April 2017. In January 2019, Sapura Energy was awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract for the relocation and tie-in of PFLNG Satu to an alternative location. In March 2019, having delivered 19 successful cargoes, PFLNG Satu was moved to the 120 meters deep waters in the KBB cluster field, 90 kilometres northwest of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. PFLNG has a smaller environmental footprint, which is almost one third of a traditional land-based LNG plant of similar capacity.
OWNERSHIP (Equity %)
| PETRONAS | 100.00% |
General Data
| Estimated Capital Cost (USD) | 1.5 B |
| Plant Type | FLNG |
| Plant Stage | Operating |
| Final Investment Decision (FID) Year | 2012 |
| FEED Contractor | Technip Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) |
| EPC Contractor | Technip Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) |
| No. of Trains / capacity | NA / 1.2 MMTPA |
| Production Start Year | 2016 |
| Products | LNG |
| Gas Type | Non-associated Gas (NAG) |
Technical Data
coming soon…
Refrigeration Train Configuration
coming soon…
Key Facts
PFLNG Satu is the world’s first floating LNG production facility as well as the first FLNG project to use dual row cargo containment system, enabling the cryogenic storage tanks to be tolerant to sloshing within the hull.1,2
PFLNG Satu has 354,000m3 LNG storage, 20,000 m³ condensate storage and displaces more than 600,000 t of water at full load. The hull size is 365m long, 60m wide and 33m deep. The facility accommodates 100-150 personnel and can be redeployed in different locations. The FLNG is designed to last for 20 years without dry-docking. 1,2
PFLNG Satu is permanently moored 180 km offshore Bintulu. It receives feedgas from the Kanowit gas field. The floating facility operates in 200 metre-deep waters. The plant’s capacity of 1.2 MMTPA of LNG boosts Malaysia’s total LNG production capacity to 32 MMTPA.3
PFLNG Satu is the world’s first offshore FLNG facility to employ Air Products AP-N™ Nitrogen cycle liquefaction process and equipment. Individual components were built around the world and assembled into modules installed on PFLNG Satu. This includes, the coil wound heat exchangers and compressor-expanders built in Pennsylvania, US and the economiser cold boxes built in Tanjung Langsat, Malaysia.4,5
PFLNG Satu is moored using an external turret and mooring system designed and supplied by SOFEC, Inc. A twelve leg (3×4) mooring system is employed to secure the vessel in 75 meter deep waters. The flexible turret design allows the vessel to be redeployed to additional locations. This makes the facility capable of unlocking multiple marginal and stranded gas fields in Malaysian waters for up to 20 years without dry docking.6
GE Oil & Gas supplied its gas turbine-driven compressor train technology to PFLNG Satu. The equipment included four PGT25+G4 gas turbine generator systems, two PGT25+G4 gas turbine driven compressor units and two electric motor driven centrifugal compressors modules.7
PFLNG Satu employs Honeywell UOP’s Amine Guard FS technology to remove carbon dioxide from the LNG feed. The technology was modified for marine production, by compensating for vessel motion, thereby reducing production risks and ensuring better reliablity.8
On 14 November 2016, first gas was introduced in PFLNG Satu and by 5 December 2016 first drop of LNG was produced. The plant shipped its first LNG cargo on 3 April 2017 onboard the 150,200 cm3 LNG carrier, ‘Seri Camellia’ to India.9,10,11
In 2017, Petronas received the CWC Asia-Pacific LNG Innovation Award for outstanding achievement in the LNG Sector, as well as the Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Award for Innovation of the year for PFLNG Satu.11
PFLNG SATU required 17 million man hours to build and involves 22 separate modular systems.12
In January 2019, in a bid to boost LNG production volumes, PETRONAS awarded Sapura Energy a contract, for relocation and tie-in of PFLNG Satu to a new field.13
Source:
1. ‘PETRONAS Floating LNG Brochure’, Petronas Website, July 2016
2. ‘PFLNG Satu’, FPSO Ventures Website
3. ‘PETRONAS Floating LNG’, Petronas Website
4. ‘Floating LNG (FLNG) capabilities: World-class LNG technology adapted for offshore applications’, Air Products Website, December 2017
5. ‘Petronas’ Floating LNG Facility (PFLNG 1)’, Ship Technology Website
6. ‘PFLNG Satu External Turret’, SOFEC Website
7. ‘Petronas Selects GE’s Compressor Technology for Asia’s First Floating LNG Project’, BusinessWire Website, 24 September 2012
8. ‘Petronas deploys Honeywell technology for FLNG facility’, Offshore Technology Website, 10 November 2017
9. ‘Petronas’ FLNG Satu gets first gas, first cargo expected soon’, LNG World News Website, 17 November 2016
10. ‘Petronas’s PFLNG Satu produces first LNG from Kanowit gasfield, offshore Borneo’, Offshore Technology Website, 12 December 2016
11. ‘Petronas Annual Report 2017’, Petronas Website, 2018
12. ‘The floating gas vessel that’s longer than the Eiffel Tower’, BBC Website
13. ‘PFLNG Satu stops production ahead of relocation exercise’, LNG World News Website, 11 March 2019
14. ‘Video – Megastructures Petronas PFLNG SATU’, National Geographic YouTube
