Lloyd's Register (LR) introduce FLNG platform classification Rules after work on Shell's 'Prelude' platform
LR say theirs are the first comprehensive Rules for FLNG facilities to be based on a real-world project.
At the World Gas Conference 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, LR launched its Rules for Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Platforms, formulated through their extensive work with Shell on its Prelude FLNG project . Upon completion, Prelude will be the largest manmade floating object, measuring 488m long and displacing 600,000 tonnes of water.
"The first FLNG facilities will have 75% of the capacity of a conventional LNG liquefaction facility, with just 5% of the surface area" said Wijnand Moonen, Business Manager for SE Asia, "This should give you an idea of the complexity of these new facilities".
With natural gas prices set to vary greatly between regions in the near future, LNG is needed to supplement pipelines in the transportation of this low-carbon fuel. Equally, the energy industry requires more effective storage solutions as demand fluctuates.
Flexibility is also a rising concern, as the Fukushima incident recently demonstrated when QatarGas delivered LNG to Japan at short notice to help meet Japan's energy deficit.
Industry experts point to FLNG as a solution that can offer easy transportation, storage and flexible supply of natural gas in an increasingly uncertain energy landscape.
LR's Rules are currently going through extensive peer review and will be ready for full release this quarter.