Offshore Gas Fields News

A Chinese research ship and five escort vessels were in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Friday, close to gas blocks operated by Russian firms in the South China Sea, a day after Vietnam urged the ships to leave.The Chinese vessel Xiang Yang Hong 10 began operating in Vietnam's EEZ on May 7, representing the most significant incursion since 2019, according to Ray Powell, who leads Stanford University's Project Myoushu on the South China Sea.He said China's conduct and Vietnam's reaction were a "worrying escalation."China claims most of the energy-rich waters of the South China Sea, including areas that are within Vietnam's EEZ. The 2019 standoff lasted for more than three months and largely targeted a block then operated by Russian state oil firm Rosneft ROSN.MM.

Malaysian oil and gas giant Petronas has awarded two Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contracts to a JGC Corporation-Samsung Heavy Industries consortium and to Saipem as part of an international dual FEED design competition for a nearshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Sabah. The project, with a minimum capacity of 2.0 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) is a first of its kind in Malaysia, Petronas said.The FEED design competition is expected to take place over the course of 10 months with the Final Investment Decision (FID) planned for end of 2022.Subject to FID…

Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas said Wednesday it had delivered its first carbon neutral liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to Shikoku Electric.The cargo was delivered from the Petronas LNG Complex (PLC) in Bintulu and was received Tuesday at the Sakaide LNG terminal in Shikoku Island, Japan.Petronas said it had offset the estimated life cycle carbon footprint of the LNG cargo through renewables-based carbon credits for the emissions generated from upstream gas exploration and production…

Oil and gas company Perenco and Cameroon's national oil firm SNH have agreed with Golar LNG to increase the utilization of the FLNG Hilli Episeyo - Africa's first FLNG in operation and the world’s first converted FLNG. The Hilli Episeyo FLNG vessel moored offshore Cameroon and producing from SNH and Perenco's offshore gas fields, started producing in March 2018. The initial agreement was for the use of two of the four liquefaction trains and provided Perenco and SNH the option to increase liquefaction production.Back on March 31…

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Siem Offshore has won a three-month charter for the 91-meters long AHTS vessel Siem Pearl in Ireland.The contract is with PSE Kinsale Energy Ltd, the Irish subsidiary of the Malaysian oil giant Petronas, which is currently working to decommission its Kinsale area fields off Ireland.The Kinsale area offshore gas fields in the Celtic Sea in July last year officially ceased production, after more than 40 years online. Production from the fields, between approximately 40 and 70km off the County Cork coast, began in 1978 and peaked in 1995.Siem Offshore's 2009-built Siem Pearl anchor handler will be supporting…

The Dutch government has granted a consortium that includes oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil around 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in subsidies for what is set to become one of the largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the world, the Port of Rotterdam said on Sunday.Shell and Exxon requested the subsidies in January together with industrial gas suppliers Air Liquide and Air Products for a project which aims to capture CO2 emitted by factories and refineries…

What are the implications of the conflict in Cabo Delgado for maritime security in East Africa and the Mozambique Channel?Following the recent attacks on the coastal town of Palma in March-April by Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamamah (ASWJ) insurgents in Mozambique’s troubled Cabo Delgado region, it is pertinent to assess the future trajectory of the conflict in the commercial maritime domain and the challenges it may pose to trade within the region. During the battle for Mocimboa da Praia…

Australia's southern states will need to import natural gas to fill a looming shortfall by 2024, as last year's COVID-19 induced oil and gas price slump has slowed investment in new fields, the country's competition watchdog said on Tuesday.Regulators have warned of a potential gas shortfall since 2016 as the market's mainstay gas source off the south coast is drying up, but the supply crunch is now rapidly approaching, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said."It is concerning that the risk of a gas supply shortfall in Australia's southern states continues…

Eni-operated Coral South FLNG project is making progress with the first topside module installed aboard the hull of the under-construction FLNG unit destined to develop offshore gas fields in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, Mozambique.Coral FLNG SA, an Eni-led JV developing the project, said Wednesday that the power generation module had been lifted aboard the hull, marking the start of the integration between the hull, launched in January, and the massive topside (12 process modules of around 70…

Qatar Petroleum (QP) invites tender for Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) to expand its common lean liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage, and the loading and export facilities for its North Field Expansion (NFE) Project aimed to further develop one of the world’s largest offshore gas fields.The tender package, which was issued to world class contractors, apart from EPC of three LNG storage tanks, calls for compressors to recover tank boil off gas during storage and jetty boil off gas during LNG vessel loading; LNG rundown lines from the LNG trains to the LNG storage area; two additional LNG berths with an option for a third LNG berth…

Successful completion of the Petronas Floating LNG facility (PFLNG) Satu is a milestone for the oil and gas industry and for the Malaysian energy giant. Designed by consortium leader TechnipFMC and fabricated at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering yard in South Korea, PFLNG Satu achieved the first-ever production of LNG offshore in December 2016. The 365-meter by 60-meter facility processes, produces and offloads LNG in situ, directly above natural gas reservoirs. FLNG allows the monetization of remote…

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering completed a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project called “floating LNG plant” for the first time in the world. The PFLNG SATU was named at a ceremony held by Petronas, together with its strategic partners Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd (DSME) and Technip, at the DSME shipyard here in Okpo, South Korea. The FLNG was named “Satu” which means “first” in the Malay language. Satu, located on E3 Berth of the Okpo Shipyard, is the world’s first such installation which is capable of exploiting natural gas from deep sea, as well as refining, liquefying, storing, and stevedoring. The vessel, which is designed to produce 1.2 mtpa of LNG, is expected to be ready for sail away in the second quarter of 2016.

Minister of Petroleum, Bijan Zangeneh said that Iran and Belgium are in talks for possible floating production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) FLNG Unit off the Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. The issue was brought up during Zangeneh’s talks with Belgian Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Pieter De Crem in Tehran on Monday as the two sides look to new areas of cooperation ahead of the lifting of sanctions on Iran. "If the two sides show flexibility and technical and economic negotiations bear results…

DNV GL developed a new unmanned floating LNG concept that it claims overcomes many of the challenges faced by operators looking to unlock the potential of remote offshore gas fields. Called Solitude, DNV GL said the concept demonstrates how technological advances can be combined into a solution that offers an estimated 20% reduction in annual OPEX, only adding a few percent increase in CAPEX and at the same time increasing overall safety. Foreseeing the need for more remote projects to be able to overcome even more challenging cost barriers…

DNV GL has developed a new unmanned floating LNG concept that it says overcomes many of the challenges currently faced by those looking to unlock the potential of remote offshore gas fields. Called Solitude, the concept demonstrates how technological advances – most of the technology already within reach - can be combined into a solution that offers some 20 percent reduction in annual OPEX, only adding a few percent increase in CAPEX and at the same time increase the overall safety. FLNG technology is developing rapidly as part of the industry’s quest for resources in more remote waters, DNV GL noted. A number of concepts have been discussed…

The largest piece of the turret for Shell’s Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility has set sail from Dubai for the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje, South Korea, where the facility is under construction, informs Shell. The turret is part of a mooring system designed to ensure Prelude FLNG can operate safely in the most extreme weather conditions. At almost 100 metres high, it is the largest in the world. The turret will run through the front of the facility and connect to giant chains that will keep it moored securely over the Prelude gas field. The turret mooring system will allow the facility to turn slowly in the wind and with currents – ensuring it can remain safely at its location through the most powerful cyclones.

Longer than four football fields, as big as six Nimitz-class aircraft carriers and almost as tall as the Taipei 101 skyscraper, Royal Dutch Shell PLC is hoping that its record-setting, game-changing floating liquid natural gas (FLNG) facility will serve as a prelude to a killing in the offshore LNG market. It’s not alone. Many industry observers believe FLNG will do for gas offshore what fracking has done for shale or natural gas trapped in the ground on shore. “This is revolutionary technology …[that]… has the potential to change the way we produce natural gas…

Dubai - Drydocks World, international player in ship repair and rig upgrade, conversion and new building, announced today that it will build the world’s largest turret, weighing 11,500 tons, for SBM Offshore, a pioneer in the offshore oil and gas industry, at its world-leading Dubai based shipyard. The turret will be integrated in the world's first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility, to be deployed by Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd. at its Prelude gas field off the northwest coast of Australia. It is a game-changing and innovative use of technology, which will allow Shell to bring new energy sources to market, by accessing offshore gas fields which would otherwise be uneconomic or difficult to develop via a traditional land-based facility.

According to a July 19 report from The Wall Street Journal, Frankfurt (Dow Jones)--RWE Dea, the gas and oil exploration and production unit of German utility RWE AG (RWE.XE), said it will jointly invest $9b in the development of two offshore gas fields in Egypt. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Shell announces final investment decision on Prelude Floating LNG project in Australia. The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) has taken the final investment decision on the Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Project in Australia (100% Shell), building the world’s first FLNG facility. Moored far out to sea, some 200 kilometres from the nearest land in Australia, the FLNG facility will produce gas from offshore fields, and liquefy it onboard by cooling. The decision…

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s biggest shipbuilder and offshore facilities contractor announced today that the Company completed developing its own Hyundai FLNG (Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Plant) model in association with Linde AG, an international industrial gases and engineering company of Germany. The Hyundai FLNG has an annual production capacity of 2.5 million tons of LNG and can store about 193,800 m3 LNG with its compact size of 355 m in length, 70 m width and 35 m in height.

Shell signed two contracts with the Technip and Samsung Heavy Industries consortium for the Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off the coast of Western Australia. These contracts formalize the announcement made by Shell in October 2009 that Prelude is in the engineering and design phase of development. The first contract covers the front-end engineering design (FEED) elements specific to the Prelude project, taking into account the composition of the gas, local weather conditions and other site specific factors. The second contract details the terms under which the floating LNG facility would be built, if the final investment decision for the Prelude project is made. Planning for Prelude is progressing well.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) completed development related to floating production, storage and offloading units for liquefied natural gas (LNG-FPSO), and has obtained two kinds of approval in principle (AIP) from major international ship classification societies. In tandem with intensified activity in medium- and small-scale offshore gas field development, demand for LNG-FPSOs, a new method of gas production offering movable capability, has been increasing globally. Boosted by the new recognition of the safety and reliability of its proposed units, MHI will now begin aggressive marketing activities toward construction of the world's first LNG-FPSO.