Malaysian energy giant Petronas has awarded two front end engineering design (FEED) contracts to a JGC-Samsung Heavy Industries consortium and to SAIPEM for a nearshore LNG project in Sabah.
The project is a first of its kind in Malaysia. It will have a minimum capacity of two million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
Petronas awarded the contracts specifically as part of an international dual FEED design competition. The competition will take place over the course of ten months. After that, the final investment decision (FID) will take place at the end of 2022.
Subject to FID, the winning FEED contractor will be rolled over to the engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) phase.
Finally, the nearshore LNG plant will be ready for start up (RFSU) by end of 2026.
Meanwhile, the design and construction of the nearshore plant will be simpler. Upon completion, it will have the potential for improved production uptime. This is because it is within a protected bay area, compared to an offshore FLNG in the open seas.
Petronas CEO Adnan Zainal Abidin said, “PETRONAS continues to provide greater access to cleaner energy sources such as natural gas. The development of Sabah’s first nearshore LNG plant reflects our technological expertise where we continue to innovate modern solutions to monetise gas resources in an optimised and environmental-friendly manner.”
Upon completion, the nearshore LNG plant will increase Petronas’ LNG production from floating LNG facilities from 2.7 MTPA to 4.7 MTPA.
Currently, PETRONAS operates two floating LNG facilities, the PFLNG SATU and PFLNG DUA , at the Kebabangan and Rotan offshore gas fields respectively.