ABS with prestigious FLNG classification contract

ABS has been awarded the classification contract from PETRONAS, Malaysia’s national oil company, for the company’s second floating LNG facility (PFLNG 2). The vessel will be built at the Samsung Heavy Industries yard in Geoje, Korea.

– This is a very significant award for us, says ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki. – It also is the natural next step for an organization that is widely recognized as the leader in the classification of offshore production units and LNG ships.

ABS has a long history working with floating gas concepts, classing the first offshore LPG storage unit in the world in 1997 and the first LPG FPSO in 2005. ABS has awarded approval in principle (AIP) for ten floating LNG concepts and has performed pre-front-end engineering and design (FEED) and FEED work on a number of others.

As the selected class society for the PFLNG 2 unit, ABS will provide a comprehensive suite of technical services, including classification.

PFLNG 2, which is scheduled to see first gas production in early 2018, will be moored via an external turret on the deepwater Rotan gas field offshore Sabah, Malaysia. Designed to produce 1.5 million metric tons of LNG per year, the vessel is expected to operate on site for a minimum of 20 years without dry docking.

There currently are more than 150 floating oil and gas facilities in the ABS-classed fleet, the largest single market share of any classification society.