Keppel Offshore & Marine announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Keppel Shipyard, will soon deliver the world’s first converted Floating Liquefaction Vessel (FLNGV) owned by Golar Hilli Corporation (Golar), a subsidiary of Golar LNG. The vessel was named Hilli Episeyo at a ceremony in Keppel Shipyard on 2 July.
As explained, upon its completion, the FLNGV will be put in operation offshore Kribi, Cameroon for Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures and Perenco Cameroon SA, and will be the first FLNGV project in Africa.
Mr Chris Ong, CEO of Keppel O&M, explained that, compared to newbuilds, converted FLNGVs are significantly more cost-effective and faster, without compromising safety and processing capabilities and they are able to provide reliable end-to-end solutions for the EPC and commissioning of FLNGV, as well as FSRU (Floating Storage and Regasification Unit) conversions.
Hilli Episeyo was converted from a 1975-built Moss LNG carrier with a storage capacity of 125,000 m3. Sponsons were added on both sides of the hull to house the topside equipment comprising of pre-treatment systems, four PRICO® single mixed refrigerant liquefaction trains, boil-off gas compression and offloading equipment. The Hilli Episeyo is designed for a liquefaction capacity of about 2.4 million tonnes of LNG per annum.
FLNGV is a solution addressing global push towards cleaner energy, to overcome the geographic, technical and economic limitations of developing natural gas resources located in marginal fields while FSRUs help reach consumers in remote areas.