Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas has kicked off first production from the Kanowit Field offshore Sarawak, East Malaysia, using its first floating LNG (FLNG) facility—the PFLNG SATU.

“The introduction of gas from the KAKG-A central processing platform at the field ignited the PFLNG SATU flare tower at the height of 130 m [427 ft],” Petronas said.

Adnan Zainal Abidin, acting vice president of LNG assets, development and production for Petronas, said the first gas milestone signified the start of commissioning and startup for the FLNG facility that will soon progress toward commercial operations and first cargo.

“We have come a long way with our partners to deliver a game changer in the global LNG business,” he said. “The shared vision for PFLNG SATU to monetize gas resources uneconomical to develop via conventional means is an achievement all can be proud of.”

The PFLNG SATU made its 3,412-km (2,120-nautical-mile) journey from Okpo, South Korea, to the Kanowit gas field in May 2016, to start its offshore phase of commissioning.

Fitted with an external turret for water depths of between 70 m and 200 m (230 ft and 656 ft), the PFLNG SATU will extract natural gas via a flexible subsea pipeline for the liquefaction, production, storage and offloading processes of LNG at the offshore gas field.

Designed to last up to 20 years without drydocking, the PFLNG SATU has the flexibility to be redeployed to multiple locations to better access marginal and stranded gas fields of Malaysia, Petronas said.

—Steve Hamlen