Golar LNG and its chief technical officer Morten Skjong announced the arrival of Fuji LNG at Yantai CIMC Raffles in separate social media posts on Friday.
Fuji LNG, which will be the donor vessel for Golar LNG’s third FLNG conversion (MKII FLNG), berthed alongside wharf 2.
“Although we have been engineering and procuring for the project for a long time already, this milestone really marks the start of the physical FLNG conversion,” Skjong said.
In September 2024, Golar LNG signed an EPC agreement with CIMC Raffles worth $1.6 billion.
Under the deal with CIMC Raffles, Black & Veatch will provide its licensed PRICO technology, perform detailed engineering and process design, specify and procure topside equipment, and provide commissioning support for the FLNG topsides and liquefaction process.
This is similar to Black & Veatch’s role in the construction of Golar’s existing assets, the FLNG Hilli and FLNG Gimi.
The Golar MK II design is an evolution of the MK I design of FLNG Hilli and FLNG Gimi.
The MK II design allows for a modularization of the construction process as well as further efficiency and operability advances based on learnings from previous experience on constructing and operating Golar’s existing FLNG assets.
Golar said the total EPC price is $1.6 billion, but the total budget for the MK II FLNG conversion is $2.2 billion.
This includes vessel conversion, yard supervision, spares, crew, training, contingencies, initial bunker supply, and voyage-related costs to deliver the FLNG to its operational site, excluding financing costs.
Golar expects to take delivery of the MK II FLNG in the fourth quarter of 2027.
FLNG focus
Golar just agreed to sell the last LNG carrier in its fleet, completing its transition into a focused FLNG infrastructure firm.
The firm announced the sale of the 2003-built steam turbine LNG carrier, Golar Arctic, in a statement last week, but the firm did not reveal the buyer.
The sale price for the vessel is $24 million before transaction-related expenses.
In addition to this sale, Golar recently sold its stake in small-scale LNG player Avenir LNG to Stolt-Nielsen and took full ownership of the 2.4 mtpa FLNG Hilli after completing deals worth $90.2 million with Seatrium and Black & Veatch.
Hilli is currently contracted to Perenco in Cameroon, until contract expiry in July 2026.
Following the completion of its contract in Cameroon, the FLNG will relocate to Argentina to start a 20-year contract for Southern Energy, a consortium of natural gas producers in Argentina.
Golar LNG’s 2,5 mtpa FLNG Gimi also just started producing LNG for the BP-operated Greater Tortue Ahmeyim FLNG project, located offshore Mauritania and Senegal.
In February last year, the 2.5 mtpa FLNG, which was converted from a 1975-built Moss LNG carrier with a storage capacity of 125,000 cbm, arrived at the GTA hub.
