Malaysian energy giant Petronas confirmed it has awarded two front-end engineering design (FEED) contracts for a nearshore FLNG project in Sabah.
Petronas said on Wednesday it has awarded a contract to a consortium consisting of Japan’s JGC and South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries.
The firm said the second contract would go to Italy’s Saipem.
This announcement comes after LNG Prime reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that Saipem and China’s Hudong-Zhonghua, as well as JGC and SHI, would compete to win the EPC contract for the third Petronas’ FLNG.
Petronas said the project, with a minimum capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum, would be a first of its kind in Malaysia.
Also, it said the FEED design competition would take place over the course of 10 months with the final investment decision planned for end of 2022.
Subject to FID, the winning FEED contractor would be rolled over to the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) phase, Petronas said.
Launch in 2026
The Malaysian firm expects the nearshore LNG plant to go online by end of 2026.
Petronas said the design and construction of the nearshore plant would be simpler and upon completion, has the potential for improved production uptime as it would be located within a protected bay area as compared to an offshore floating LNG facility in the open seas.
Upon completion, the nearshore LNG plant would increase Petronas’ LNG production from floating LNG facilities from 2.7 mtpa to 4.7 mtpa.
Currently, Petronas operates two floating LNG facilities, namely the 1.2 mtpa PFLNG Satu as well as the 1.5 mtpa PFLNG Dua. The two units sit at the Kebabangan and Rotan offshore gas fields, respectively.
“Petronas continues to provide greater access to cleaner energy sources such as natural gas,” Petronas executive VP and CEO of gas and new energy Adnan Zainal Abidin, said.
“The development of Sabah’s first nearshore LNG plant reflects our technological expertise where we continue to innovate modern solutions to monetize gas resources in an optimized and environmental-friendly manner,” he said.
