Black & Veatch, Wison Offshore & Marine and EXMAR Celebrate Major Milestone on Caribbean FLNG Project
A ceremony was held today to celebrate the undocking of the Caribbean FLNG facility from the Wison Offshore & Marine dry dock in Nantong, China, bringing an economic, game-changing project closer to commercial reality.
Floating LNG liquefaction and storage (FLNG) facilities are expected to significantly reduce the cost and time required to monetize and deliver gas to market. The result will be broader use of natural gas globally, a key component of the world’s need for a balanced energy portfolio.
The Caribbean FLNG project, which is expected to be the world’s first operational FLNG facility, is being delivered by Wison Offshore & Marine (Wison) at its yard in Nantong under an engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) contract with EXMAR. The unit comprises a non-propelled barge that will be operated off the Caribbean coast of Colombia for Pacific Rubiales Energy and equipped to convert 72.0 million scf/d of natural gas into LNG (+/- 500,000 tons of LNG per annum) for temporary storage and export.
EXMAR was on hand at the ceremony alongside Wison’s key partner in the project, Black & Veatch, who is responsible for the engineering and procurement of the topsides equipment as well as providing the company’s patented PRICO® LNG liquefaction technology.
Wison and Black & Veatch are now in the process of completing the commissioning activities on the facility in preparation for sail away and delivery to its location in Colombia by the end of the second quarter of 2015.
With the Caribbean FLNG unit out of its Nantong dry dock, Wison is now using the area for fabrication of its second LNG facility, a barge-based floating regasification unit for a 50/50 joint venture between EXMAR and Pacific Midstream Holding Corp., a fully owned affiliate of Pacific Rubiales Energy. First steel was cut on this unit earlier in the month.
“This event is another major milestone on the Caribbean FLNG project that brings not only this project, but the entire industry one step closer to making floating LNG a reality,” said L. Dwayne Breaux, President of Wison Offshore & Marine. “By being an integral part of this premier project for EXMAR and their client Pacific Rubiales Energy, Wison is proving that by working with our key partner Black & Veatch that we can establish a cost-effective EPCIC solution to the market that can be repeated for other LNG developments.”
“Since inception, the team’s focus has been to set a performance benchmark for the industry and prove the commercial advantages of producing floating LNG,” said Bob Germinder, Senior Vice President of Black & Veatch’s oil & gas business. “The expertise and collaboration between all parties has been outstanding to manage the complex and challenging integration.”
“This is a major milestone in the development of our Colombian project,” said Nicolas Saverys, CEO of EXMAR. “The cooperation with both partners is excellent and we are very excited to bring a world’s first to the market when the first commercial LNG cargo from our FLNG project will be produced during second half 2015.”
Editor’s Notes:
- Since the early 1960s, Black & Veatch has been involved in the production of over 160 MM tons of LNG through a number of global LNG facilities. The company has delivered 32 liquefied natural gas (LNG) production plants worldwide. Twenty-seven plants feature Black & Veatch’s patented PRICO® technology.
- PRICO® is an innovative process developed by Black & Veatch to liquefy natural gas, making it available for transport via truck or ocean tanker. The process uses a Black & Veatch-patented, single-mixed refrigerant loop for natural gas liquefaction. The process provides several key advantages, including:
- A simplified refrigeration system that requires minimal equipment and a compact process makes it ideal for offshore liquefaction
- Low capital and operating expenditure
- Simplified control and maintenance
- The PRICO® process is used in LNG production facilities worldwide because of its flexibility for LNG capacity and in feed gas composition. This flexibility is invaluable for clients because they receive natural gas from multiple sources with varying composition and conditions.
- High resolution images of the undocking of the Caribbean FLNG facility are available here.
About Wison Offshore & Marine
Wison Offshore & Marine is the upstream oil and gas division of the Wison Group. The company’s services cover the full life cycle of project delivery, from facility design and engineering, to project management, construction, commissioning and operations. This expertise can be applied to all types of oil and gas developments including offshore LNG applications and facilities, fixed platforms and modules, marine and offshore support vessels, mooring systems, offshore lifting equipment, and complete floating production and drilling systems such as TLPs, Spars, Semisubmersibles, and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels. Wison Offshore & Marine is capable of executing engineering and design activities out of its headquarters in Shanghai, China, as well as Houston, Texas, USA, and perform fabrication of facilities from its two world-class yards in Nantong and Zhoushan, China.
For more info about Wison Offshore & Marine, please visit www.wison.com
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About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Our revenues in 2018 were US$3.5 billion. Follow us on social media.
