Daishan enterprise builds topside modules for China's largest FLNG facility

A rendering of the $1.84-billion FLNG facility in Daishan county, Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]  

Wison Marine Engineering Co Zhoushan Base in Daishan county, Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, started building topside modules for China's largest floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility on July 3, according to local media reports.  

The $1.84-billion FLNG facility, which is expected to produce 2.4 million tons of LNG a year, was ordered by Italian oil and gas company Eni. 

Dubbed "the new pearl in the crown of the ship and marine engineering industry," the FLNG facility can be used to liquefy and store the natural gas extracted in sea areas far away from land.  

The facility, which is expected to be put into operation in the Congo Sea area 50 kilometers from shore by the end of 2025, can receive about 10.76 million meters of natural gas per day. 

Wison will provide engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) services for the facility, breaking the technological monopoly of related European and South Korean companies in the field.  

Wei Huaqing, vice president of Wison Marine Engineering Co, said that the FLNG facility has comparative advantages of a shorter building period, lower costs, controllable risks and earlier returns, and has become a new trend in offshore natural gas resource exploration. 

Daishan has in recent years been channeling more resources toward bolstering its high-end shipbuilding and marine engineering industries, and has established a complete industrial chain that covers research and development, design, building and related services. 

The output of the shipbuilding and marine engineering industries in Daishan in the first quarter of this year increased by 21 percent year-on-year.