Malaysia’s Petronas this week added another first to its list of accomplishments in pioneering LNG production using floating (FLNG) technology.
Petronas became the first global energy company to own and produce from two floating LNG (FLNG) facilities, following the successful first shipping of LNG from its PFLNG DUA facility on 24 March. The Seri Camar LNG carrier transported the cargo to Thailand.
PFLNG DUA works in deep water and can reach gas fields in water depths of up to 1500 m; its capacity is 1.5 mtpa of LNG. It passed subsea commissioning and produced first LNG in February.
As a pioneer in the field of FLNG technology, Petronas was the first in the world to have an operational FLNG facility when it brought the PFLNG SATU online in 2016.
The SATU also completed the world’s first FLNG relocation when it was deployed in March 2019 to Sabah’s Kebabangan gas field from the Kanowit gas field in Sarawak.
Designed for shallow water, the SATU produces from gas fields at water depths of 70–200 m, and can produce 1.2 mtpa of LNG.
Commenting this week on his company’s latest milestone, Petronas President and CEO Muhammad Taufik, said, “PFLNG DUA’s first cargo demonstrates our commitment to continue our pioneering efforts in providing more sustainable solutions to harness further value from LNG production through technological advancements.”
Petronas collaborates with its upstream production-sharing contract partner, PTT Exploration and Production of Thailand, on its FLNG initiatives by which Malaysia seeks to produce remote and stranded gas fields that would otherwise be uneconomical.
As the Asia Pacific region moves rapidly toward becoming ground-zero for generating the highest rates of growth in world energy demand, Petronas is stepping up its exploration to find new reserves to fill its current and future LNG floating facilities.
Petronas launched the Malaysian Bid Round 2021, in a virtual event on 26 February, offering 13 exploration blocks to 250 potential and existing investors streaming live from North America, the UK and Europe as well as Asia Pacific.
Since then, the company has made other roadshow presentations, including one at this week’s Virtual International Petroleum Technology Conference which continues through 1 April in Kuala Lumpur.
Out of 13 blocks on offer, three are situated in the Malay basin (PM340, PM327, and PM342), four in the Sabah basin (SB409, SB412, 2W, and X), and the remaining six are located in Sarawak basin (ND3A, SK4E, SK328, SK427, SK439, and SK440), according to information published on the Petronas website.
Included in blocks PM342, SK4E, SK328, and SB409 are six discovered fields as a base for investors to explore more, and help accelerate monetization. MBR 2021 also features the offering of four deepwater blocks (ND3A, 4E, 2W, and X) off the coast of Sarawak and Sabah, which saw prominent exploration discoveries in recent years.
Petronas is also offering three large areas for study. The first is the area to the south of the Malay Basin in Peninsular Malaysia with Pre-Tertiary and basement emerging plays yet to be explored.
The second and third area cover the deep water of north of Luconia that extends north easterly to Sabah and could have extensions of proven plays
With the launch of its 2021 licensing round, Petronas opened a virtual data room that will be accessible through 6 August when investor proposals are due. Bids will be assessed in August and September and production-sharing contract awards made by the end of the year.
The 2021 Virtual International Petroleum Technology Conference runs through 1 April. Explore the agenda for daily IPTC Insights, panel sessions, Ask the Expert and technical sessions, sponsored seminars, ePosters, and special programs.
