Offshore staff
LONDON – The FLNG market is poised for increased investment and activity from 2014 to 2020, with Douglas-Westwood (DW) forecasting total expenditure of $64.4 billion. Two-thirds of this spend is attributed to liquefaction infrastructure, with the remainder from import and regasification facilities.
Report author, Amanda Tay, commented, “The previous seven-year period saw minimal investment in floating liquefaction infrastructure, but now with the introduction of floating LNG vessels, global FLNG capex is expected to increase significantly over the next seven years. Year-on-year growth over this period is forecast to average 64% per annum and DW expects the increase to be more pronounced after the successful startup and operation of the pioneer FLNG vessels, such as Shell’sPreludeFLNG and Petronas’ PFLNG 1.”
DW anticipates that more floating regasification units will be sanctioned, particularly in Asia and Latin America. In North America, however, the discovery of large supplies of shale gas has resulted in the shutdown of many of its operational terminals and the cancellation of new import facilities.
Murray Dormer, report editor, concludes, “When compared to its onshore alternative, FLNG offers higher security, a cheaper alternative, shorter lead time, and the ability to monetize stranded gas fields. While there are inherent risks, FLNG is undoubtedly a prospective market that, in the long run, is poised to drive many future gas developments.”
03/06/2014
