On August 26, Wison Clean Energy Technology Group Co., Ltd. held a project sailing-off ceremony and a 30 million safe man-hours milestone event for the “NGUYA FLNG”, the nation’s first large-scale floating liquefied natural gas facility (FLNG) constructed by the company.
The “NGUYA FLNG” is China’s self-built new FLNG with the largest tonnage and gas storage capacity. The EPCIC contract was signed between Wison Clean Energy and Italy’s ENI Group in December 2022, marking the first time a Chinese enterprise has acted as the general contractor in a large FLNG project. Construction on the “NGUYA FLNG” began in January 2023, with the hull launching ceremony held in November 2024. The entire process from contract signing to sailing off took only 33 months, setting a new industry record for fastest delivery.
FLNG is a “powerful tool” for developing offshore natural gas resources. It can directly liquefy and store natural gas extracted in open seas far from land, making it suitable for the development of large offshore gas fields. It is one of the marine engineering equipment products with complex construction, high cost, and significant added value, hailed as the “new pearl in the crown” of the shipbuilding and offshore engineering industry. The delivery and sailing off of this FLNG not only marks a new breakthrough in technological innovation and engineering management in the global FLNG field but also demonstrates the exceptional strength of Chinese enterprises in the high-end energy equipment sector.
The “NGUYA FLNG” is the core production facility for ENI’s LNG project in Congo (Brazzaville). Guests invited to the sailing-off ceremony included Mr. Itoua, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas of Congo (Brazzaville); Mr. Maioni, Director of Natural Resource Development, Operations, and Energy Efficiency at ENI Group; Mr. Wu Xinming, Secretary of the Nantong Municipal Party Committee; Mr. Li Feng, Vice Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology; Mr. Bao Delin, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone; Mr. Ling Yi, Vice Mayor of Nantong; Mr. Yang Zhongjian, Secretary of the Qidong Municipal Party Committee; Mr. Sun Jin, Deputy General Manager of China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) Jiangsu Branch; Mr. Zhang Jing, President of China Construction Bank Nantong Branch; Mr. Hua Bangsong, Founder of Wison Group; Mr. Liu Hongjun, Chairman of Wison Clean Energy; and Ms. Cheng Yuanyun, CEO of Wison Clean Energy. They joined guests from various sectors and partners to witness this milestone moment.
This FLNG has an overall length of 376 meters, a molded breadth of 60 meters, a molded depth of 35 meters, an LNG storage capacity of 180,000 cubic meters, and an LPG storage capacity of 45,000 cubic meters. Its annual LNG production capacity reaches 2.4 million tons, ranking fourth globally in terms of FLNG annual production capacity. It will be deployed offshore Pointe-Noire, Congo (Brazzaville), helping ENI’s LNG project achieve an annual export output of 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
During the construction of the “NGUYA FLNG”, Wison Clean Energy applied the CHART IPSMR® liquefaction technology and SPB® storage tank technology to a floating liquefaction production facility for the first time, endowing it with advantages of high liquefaction production efficiency and a stable, reliable liquid cargo storage system. Furthermore, the facility integrates multiple low-carbon technologies, including dual-fuel main engine generators and waste heat recovery units, ensuring efficient operation while effectively reducing carbon emissions.
Mr. Wei Huaqing, Vice President of Wison Clean Energy and Project Director of the NGUYA FLNG, stated that from contract signing to sailing off, the project took only 33 months and accumulated 30 million safe man-hours without lost time incidents. This not only demonstrates Wison Clean Energy’s professional capability and efficiency in full lifecycle project management as an EPCIC contractor but also highlights the company’s comprehensive advantages in standardized design and international QHSE system management. It further reflects the integrated strength of China’s highly efficient supply chain and manufacturing. Wison Clean Energy’s unique one-stop EPCIC delivery capability minimizes interface communication costs across all project execution phases. A highly integrated cooperation mechanism was established with the ENI owner team, ultimately achieving a sailing-off date one month ahead of the contractual schedule. This provides a new benchmark for the execution of future international energy projects.
It is understood that ENI’s Congo (Brazzaville) LNG project aims to develop the resources of the Marine XII gas field, with plans to deploy two FLNG facilities at the Nenè and Litchendjili gas fields. The first one, the “Tango FLNG”, is already in operation. This FLNG was also built by Wison Clean Energy. The “Tango FLNG” has an annual capacity of 600,000 tons. With the “NGUYA FLNG” joining operations by the end of this year, the total capacity of ENI’s Congo (Brazzaville) LNG project will increase to 3 million tons per year.
Wison Clean Energy is currently the only domestic shipyard that has delivered an FLNG. In 2012, Wison Clean Energy secured the EPCIC contract for the world’s first floating natural gas liquefaction and storage barge facility and successfully completed the performance test in September 2016, achieving the world’s first successful natural gas liquefaction production on a floating facility. The vessel was successfully delivered to Belgian shipowner Exmar in 2017 and named the “Tango FLNG”. In 2022, ENI acquired the “Tango FLNG” from Exmar at a high price.
In December 2022, Wison Clean Energy was awarded the EPCIC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and Commissioning) contract for ENI’s second FLNG, the “NGUYA FLNG”, which is the largest FLNG built by Wison Offshore & Marine.
In addition to the two FLNGs built for ENI mentioned above, in June 2024, Wison Clean Energy signed an EPCIC contract valued at up to $962.8 million (approximately RMB 6.991 billion) with Malaysia’s Genting Group for one FLNG. This FLNG is expected to have an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons. The facility adopts Wison’s standardized design (efficient liquefaction process and hull) and is planned for deployment in West Papua Province, Indonesia. It will be Indonesia’s first FLNG and the world’s ninth FLNG, with delivery expected in the second quarter of 2026.
In October of the same year, Wison Clean Energy also signed a Pre-FEED contract with Papua New Guinea’s national oil and gas company, Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL), for its first FLNG. This FLNG is expected to have an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons and is planned for deployment in the Gulf of Papua. This Pre-FEED design is scheduled for completion in June 2025.
In the first half of this year, Wison Clean Energy signed a Feasibility Study (DFS) contract with Malaysia’s Petronas for an FLNG in Block 52 offshore Suriname. This cooperation signifies that Wison Clean Energy’s technical strength in the FLNG field has once again been recognized by an international energy giant, injecting innovative momentum into the global energy transition.
This is the first time Petronas’s FLNG project has chosen a Chinese shipyard. According to international shipping news, Petronas currently operates two FLNGs, including the “PFLNG SATU” delivered by South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean) in 2016, and the “PFLNG DUA” delivered by Samsung Heavy Industries in 2020. Furthermore, in December 2022, Petronas also signed a contract with Samsung Heavy Industries to build a third FLNG, the “PFLNG TIGA”, scheduled for delivery in 2027.
It is understood that Wison Clean Energy is a leading clean energy technology and solutions provider, dedicated to offering highly integrated EPCIC solutions for the energy industry. These include floating liquefied natural gas facilities, floating production storage and offloading units, onshore standardized modular LNG plants, floating natural gas power generation facilities, floating wind power, and other clean energy solutions. Based on a successful project delivery record, the experienced Wison Clean Energy team provides EPCIC services that meet the highest international quality and safety standards, leveraging its professional technological innovation capabilities.
Looking ahead, Wison Clean Energy will continue to uphold its mission of “Driving Energy Transition, Empowering Sustainable Development”. By collaborating with global partners and supported by technological innovation and professional services, it will provide high-quality, customized clean energy solutions to jointly create a greener, more sustainable new global energy landscape.
