CHINA-OIL
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Chinese energy giant CNOOC Group is studying the possibility of building a multi-billion-dollar floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel. This is as yet an untried technology, but could be used to produce gas from the deep waters of the South China Sea. While CNOOC has made no public announcement, a pre-feasibility study is well under way according to CNOOC officials who also said that CNOOC is already talking to global engineering firms about possible joint design of the vessel.
(Comment: FLNG ships are ocean-based liquefaction plants that can be positioned above reserves to chill extracted gas and load it into LNG tankers for delivery. That could make fields too remote or too small to develop using undersea pipelines viable for production. About 10 FLNG facilities are being planned globally with a handful under construction, among them the biggest, Prelude, owned by Royal Dutch Shell.)
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