Petronas’ FLNG Satu gets first gas, first cargo expected soon

Petronas’ first floating LNG facility, the PFLNG Satu, on Monday received its first gas from the Kanowit gas field, offshore Sarawak. 

The gas has been introduced from the KAKG-A central processing platform at the field, igniting the PFLNG Satu’s flare tower, as Petronas pushes towards unlocking gas reserves in Malaysia’s remote and stranded gas fields.

Adnan Zainal Abidin, Petronas’ acting vice president LNG assets, development & production, said the introduction of gas marks the commencement of the commissioning and startup phase for the floating LNG facility. The start of commercial operations as well as the first cargo is expected soon, Abidin said.

The PFLNG Satu set off on its 2,120 nautical mile journey from Okpo, South Korea, reaching the Kanowit gas field in May for its offshore phase of commissioning.

Fitted with an external turret for water-depths of between 70 meters and 200 meters deep, PFLNG Satu will extract natural gas via a flexible subsea pipeline for the liquefaction, production, storage and offloading processes of LNG at the offshore gas field.

Designed to last up to 20 years without dry-docking, PFLNG Satu, the 365-meter long structure, will be able to produce 1.2 million tonnes of LNG per year.

According to Petronas, the FLNG unit has the flexibility to be redeployed to multiple location to better access marginal and stranded gas fields offshore Malaysia.