COSCO’s FLNG liquefaction and storage unit wins DNV nod of approval

China’s COSCO Shipping (Qidong) Offshore and COSCO (Nantong) Shipyard have secured a green light from Norway’s classification society DNV via two certifications for their floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) liquefaction and storage unit.

According to DNV’s social media post, the two arms of the Chinese state-owned conglomerate have received an approval in principle (AiP) as well as a main scantling approval (MSA). The MSA confirmed the durability of ‘key’ structural elements, while the AiP covered the stability, marine and electrical systems and safety.

As explained, the dual assessment was done to de-risk the project early and push the concept’s development to the next stage.

“This innovative new FLNG concept reflects the industry’s drive for flexible, lower-carbon energy solutions. Building a platform of advanced, independent, and rigorous rules and standards helps build confidence across the industry, enabling them to take the steps forward in offshore LNG production,” Norbert Kray, DNV Regional Manager for Greater China, commented.

Shedding insight on the concept, Qu Ming, General Manager of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Qidong) and COSCO (Nantong) Shipyard, explained that the newly developed near-shore standard FLNG hull design comes with “both scalability and ease of construction”. This, in turn, is anticipated to ‘greatly shorten’ project design and delivery schedules, while cutting investment costs.

China has endeavored to ‘lead’ in the floating LNG production landscape, with its shipyards delivering numerous projects within the past couple of years. For instance, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industries, under which COSCO Shipping (Qidong) Offshore operates, and COSCO Shipping LNG Investment signed a strategic cooperation agreement with France-based LNG containment specialist GTT at the beginning of February this year to work together on the production of LNG carriers, ethane carriers, FLNG units, and crude carriers.

Moreover, the hull of Italian energy giant Eni’s Nguya FLNG was launched at Wison Offshore & Marine’s yard in Nantong in November 2024. The unit is due to become operational off the coast of Congo, Africa, from September this year. As informed, the Congo LNG initiative is the African nation’s ‘first’ natural gas liquefaction project, which is envisioned to have an overall production capacity of 3 million tons per year (mtpa) or roughly 4.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year from 2025.

Many Chinese firms have been deepening their ties with African nations to monetize gas reserves. Beyond Eni’s Congo project, Shanghai-headquartered Wison New Energies, for example, is engineering two FLNG units for Nigerian players Ace Gas and Transoceanic Power. The endeavor is said to target both export and domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) markets.