PETALING JAYA (June 15): The construction of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas)’s second floating liquefied natural gas facility (PFLNG2) has officially begun with the project’s steel-cutting.

In a statement today, Petronas said the steel cutting, which took place on June 11 at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) Shipyard in Geoje Island, South Korea, signifies the beginning of a mega construction phase of the hull and topsides of the PFLNG2, with a collective weight of 152,000 tonnage.

Petronas vice president and venture director of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects (Domestic), Datuk Abdullah Karim, who was at the ceremony, said PFLNG2 is expected to embark on a “technology solution” to monetise a wider range of stranded gas fields, when it is commissioned in 2018.

“Petronas made a bold decision in January 2014 to make its Final Investment Decision (FID) for the PFLNG2 project,” he said.

The PFLNG2 will make possible the liquefaction, production and offloading processing of natural gas in the Rotan field, 130 kilometers offshore Sabah. With a capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) for a minimum of 20 years and designed for deep-water, PFLNG2 is expected to commission in 2018.

The ceremony was also attended by JGC Group chairman emeritus Yoshihiro Shigehisa and Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd president and chief executive officer Dae-Young Park, representing the consortium awarded with the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning of the PFLNG2.

“We are honored that with the successful delivery of PFLNG2, we will be making yet another contribution to Petronas and their offshore development strategy,” said Yoshihiro.

In his speech, Park said he is confident the consortium will be able to deliver the LNG facility on time, while meeting top global safety and quality standards.  

The PFLNG2 will be built at Samsung Heavy Industries’ yard in Geoje Island, South Korea.