Shanghai-based Wison Offshore and Marine Ltd., a subsidiary of the Wison Group, was awarded a contract by Exmar for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of the world’s first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction, regasification and storage unit (FLRSU).

The FLRSU facility will be used by Exmar under a build, own, and operate contract with Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. on the Caribbean coast offshore Colombia. Commercial operations are planned to commence fourth quarter 2014.

The FLRSU consists of a non-propelled barge equipped to convert 69.5 million cu ft per day of natural gas into LNG (+/- 500,000  metric tons of LNG per annum) that will be temporarily stored in onboard tanks with a total capacity of 14,000 cu m, and subsequently offloaded either to a permanently-moored floating storage unit or shuttle tankers. The facility will be moored to a jetty and supplied with gas by pipeline from the onshore La Creciente field in the Lower Magdalena Valley Basin.

Wison will be responsible for the design and engineering of the unit from its Shanghai operational center with construction to be performed at the company’s wholly-owned fabrication facilit in Nantong, China, and further support supplied from the company’s subsidiary in Houston.

Black and Veatch has been contracted to execute the engineering and procurement of the topside liquefaction equipment and packages using its patented PRICO® LNG technology, and providing onsite commissioning and startup services.