Malaysian oil and gas giant Petronas has launched the hull of its first floating liquefied natural gas facility, 'PFLNG 1', at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in Okpo, South Korea.
The facility, scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015, will be the world's first floating LNG facility in operation, said Petronas in an announcement.
The launch, which took place in early April, saw the 365-metre hull float out at a dock and launched to anchor at a quayside of DSME shipyard, where the facility is being constructed.
This phase marks another milestone in the development of the facility and signifies the near-completion of hull construction works, less than 10 months since the cutting of the first steel in June 2013.
The 'PFLNG 1' vessel, also known as 'PFLNG SATU', will be moored in Malaysia's Kanowit gas field, 180 kilometres offshore Sarawak. Once operational, it will produce 1.2 million tonnes of LNG per year.
The facility will play a significant role in Petronas' efforts to unlock the gas reserves in Malaysia's remote and stranded fields currently deemed uneconomical to develop and evacuate, as well as help meet the growing demand for gas, the company concluded.