FLNG—a nice niche?

Abstract

The LNG industry continues to experience strong growth. After a decade where industry growth outstripped expectations, even without the anticipated growth in LNG imports to the US, the outlook for LNG appears robust.

New markets and suppliers are emerging and market dynamics are changing, in particular the marked increase in short-term contracts and spot market trading. LNG developments historically have been land based. Increases in process train capacities have enabled economies of scale to be achieved, helping to mitigate rising costs. As a result of these economies of scale, the resource base required to support developments has also increased.

The development of FLNG together with a shift in market patterns presents the chance to fill a market space.

Though FLNG has a long way to go before becoming widely accepted as a standard development route. This extended abstract will:

1. Examine how different approaches to FLNG are being taken to fill the space left by traditional land-based LNG solutions.

2. Investigate the similarities and differences between FLNG developments and how the world floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) fleet has developed in the last few decades, and will discuss the implications for FLNG development.

3. Examine how the changes in market dynamics may support the development of FLNG.

4. Outline the potential opportunities and challenges this could present to on- and off-shore producers in Australia.

5. Provide an overview of the possible future of FLNG.