GEOJE (South Korea), Nov 27 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is a known technophile was awestruck by Petronas’ Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Dua (PFLNG Dua), which is able to reach deepwater gas reserves located up to 1,500 meters underwater.
“This is awesome, it is unimaginable. This is so big. The size if it stands up straight, it is almost as tall as the (Petronas) twin towers,” he said on the overall length of the vessel which is 393 meters.
“The facilities are advanced, they can do all (the processes of extracting LNG) on the ship. They are operated by Malaysians and that is something we can be proud of,” he told Bernama and TV3 after visiting the vessel at Samsung Heavy Industries Geoje Shipyard.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, who was the Lady Sponsor and carried out the ceremonial rope cutting during the vessel’s official naming as PFLNG Dua here, today.
The vessel which can accommodate gas production, offshore pipeline, gas liquefaction as well as storage and offloading facilities will be deployed at Rotan Gas Field, 140km offshore Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
The vessel is scheduled for its sail away in February 2020.
It is 100 per cent owned by the national oil and gas company, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and is being constructed by a consortium made up of JGC Corporation of Japan and Samsung Heavy Industries of South Korea.
“It is good to have this kind of cooperation as each country has its own strength, its own experiences and we can tap on it. In the process, I think Malaysians must learn about design and shipbuilding and things like that.
“We do not go the same way as (South) Korea, Korea plans to be big. Malaysia mostly looks onto the domestic market. We should look into Korea’s strategy and emulate it,” he said.
The Prime Minister said it is possible for Malaysia to build such facilities too if it learns the trade.
Asked whether Petronas could build another FLNG vessel, Dr Mahathir the country has enough LNG reserves for it but that depends very much on the demand for it.
“It all depends on demand. We have enough reserves to have another one and this is a moving platform. We can move it to other countries. So, maybe if there is a need for other countries (they can charter it from Petronas),” said Dr Mahathir.
The visit to the facility in Geoje, a city located in South Gyeongsang province, just off the coast of the port city of Busan is part of Dr Mahathir’s official visit to the country.
Dr Mahathir arrived in Busan on Nov 24, 2019, for Asean-South Korea Commemorative Summit followed by a two-day official visit to the country beginning today.
This is his first official visit to South Korea since becoming Malaysia’s seventh Prime Minister in May 2018.
— Bernama
