A NEW STUDY predicts that the Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) business is rapidly developing into a sector of major significance and will be worth US$8.5 billion by 2015. The new study, The World FLNG Market Report 2009-2015, has been published by energy business analysts, Douglas- Westwood.
It considers the market for both floating liquefaction and regasification and identifies the desire to monetise stranded gas deposits. Escalating construction costs and high local opposition to onshore LNG facilities coupled with geopolitical issues are the key drivers of the sector at present.
“For us this is a major area of interest, an emerging sector that is growing rapidly from a small base," said Steve Robertson, head of oil and gas at Douglas-Westwood, as he announced the study at the Global Floating Production Systems Conference. "The floating liquefaction business has taken some time to develop, with larger operators initially focused on very large applications. These failed to progress due to their size, inherent complexity and cost. However, technology concepts targeting smaller applications have found favour thanks to the reduced risk profile, availability of proven (and in some instances, modular) technology and lower capital cost.”Lead author, Lucy Miller, said, “We have developed a market model built on a project-by-project review of development prospects, with the timing of expenditure phased to reflect likely project structure.
This model has been developed in consultation with industry experts and also sense-checked to account for external factors such as supply chain constraints. We have prepared forecasts segmented by services such as technology licensing, front end engineering & design, project management & detailed design engineering, construction engineering (field engineering), construction and installation (hook-up and commissioning).
