Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) offers the most efficient and cost-effective path for monetising gas in the Guyana-Suriname Basin, says Lorenzo Disaro, Offshore Business Director for FLNG-LNG at Technip Energies.
“Instead of injecting the gas, it makes sense to send some of the gas to shore,” Disaro told OilNOW during an exclusive interview at the Suriname Energy Oil and Gas Summit. But for large-scale export, he insists FLNG is the better option.
“We are far from shore,” he pointed out. “We are talking about 200 kilometers or more, and the shoreline is very shallow for a long distance.” He explained that building pipelines and onshore LNG plants in such conditions would require extensive dredging. “That’s a huge, huge, huge cost. And even that, once you have done it, you need to maintain the dredging all the time.”
Disaro said FLNG eliminates these challenges. “Instead of doing that onshore, the best is to stay offshore. There is no more dredging issue. You don’t need to build this long pipeline.”
He highlighted global examples to support his case. “That’s why we did FLNGs in Mozambique and in Prelude, Australia. Same reason, very far from shore, very expensive construction cost onshore.”
Technip Energies has deep roots in LNG, having built the first LNG plant in 1964. “The first plant, the largest trains, the first modularised project, the first FLNG is by Technip,” he said. “We are entering a new era of low-to-zero carbon energy.” He added that the company is currently building electrified LNG plants powered by solar and nuclear energy in Abu Dhabi and Oman.
Disaro explained the FLNG concept is no different from the FPSOs already in use offshore Guyana. “FLNG is just an FPSO, but for gas. It’s the same concept. FLNG in the Guyana-Suriname area makes sense because of the environment. It also makes sense because there is a market.”
Though Suriname’s first offshore development is focused on oil, a final investment decision can come from Petronas for a gas development at Block 52. Petronas has floated the possibility of a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project, with Rystad Energy estimating such a project could start as early as 2031.
Guyana is currently exploring options to monetize a large swath of non-associated gas discovered in the Stabroek Block. It is developing a gas pipeline project to provide cheaper power to its citizens. That project will use associated gas from the Liza field.
There is significant potential for new gas ventures. Guyana has around 17 trillion cubic feet of gas discovered.
