Lloyd’s Register wins work on world’s first ultra-deepwater FLNG unit

Lloyd’s Register (LR), an engineering, technical and business services organization, has won a contract to support the development of Eni’s Coral South FLNG project in Mozambique.

Coral South FLNG; Image: LR

Coral South FLNG; Image: LR

LR said on Monday that the scope of work includes covers design, procurement, certification, construction, integration, and commissioning, as well as providing classification services under a risk-based inspection regime when the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit enters service in 2022.

The Coral South field is being developed by Eni in Area Four of the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of Mozambique. The field contains approximately 450 billion cubic meters (16 TCF) of gas and the unit will be Africa’s first floating gas facility.

The FLNG unit will be the world’s first ultra-deepwater FLNG, operating at a depth of 2,000 meters. It is expected to produce around 3.4 million tonnes of LNG per year. The FLNG will be about 430 meters long, 66 meters wide, and will weigh about 210,000 tonnes. It has a design life of 25 years.

LR added that it was providing flexible, bespoke support to the project through a range of services. The organization has been involved in the project since 2014, and in 2015 awarded the first approval in principle for the design.

Its primary role in the project is to ensure that the FLNG operates safely, is not going to impact the environment, that people working onboard the unit are safe and that it is designed, procured, and fabricated in accordance with the most recognized industry standards.

The project is currently in a detailed engineering design phase, with the bulk of design work happening in Korea, France, and Japan. LR is required to deliver a number of design appraisal documents as part of this phase.

All the equipment, systems, and machinery that make up the topside plant on the FLNG will be certified by LR.

To do this, LR will be holding more than 500 contracts with equipment vendors directly and will be delivering services in all vendor locations. This will result in all the equipment arriving in Korea certified by LR to agreed codes and standards.

Upon completion of construction, the FLNG will be towed from Korea to Mozambique and LR will attend the hook up of the mooring system and survey the commissioning of the topside plant on the station.

Simon Turpin, LR’s overarching project manager on Coral South, said: “The fact that LR was chosen for this very large and complicated project underlines our expertise in FLNG and shows that we are prepared and able to work in new and developing areas, where our clients want us to be. This is the first step into Mozambique for a major class society and an investment in the future of the country.”