Coral is Latest FLNG Project to Pick GTT

French engineering firm GTT, which designs and installs specialist membrane LNG containment systems for tankers and storage tanks, said in 1H results late July 20 that it won an order, announced last month, from the Coral South floating liquefaction (FLNG) offshore east Africa.

The French firm said the new order for Coral “demonstrates that GTT's technologies represent the ideal solution for offshore LNG production units”, in the wake of the recent delivery of its membrane systems to two other FLNG projects: Malaysia’s PFLNG and Shell-led Prelude. PFLNG started exports this April, the first plant of its kind anywhere; while the Prelude FLNG ship is now in transit to northwest Australia where it is planned to start commercial production in 2018.

The Coral FLNG vessel, with a total capacity of 238,700 m³, will be built in the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in South Korea on behalf of the project's operator Eni, which expects the venture to start producing in 2022 in deep waters offshore Mozambique. That's bigger than Prelude's LNG tankspace of 220,000 m³ although the Prelude ship will be larger as it will process wetter gas and need tanks for condensate and LPGs.

Also in 1H 2017, GTT secured eight orders for LNG carriers: four from South Korea's two other LNG shipbuilders (Hyundai’s HHI and Daewoo’s DSME) and four from their Chinese rival Hudong Zhonghua; along with four orders for the design of tanks from all three Korean shipyards for use in floating regas terminals (FSRUs). “These orders demonstrate the very high interest in these regasification vessels which is a very quick and economic solution particularly for new LNG importing countries,” said GTT.

GTT reported a 1% year on year rise in net profits to €61.2mn in 1H2017. CEO Philippe Berterottiere said: "In a challenging market, GTT experienced very robust commercial activity during the first half of the year with 13 vessel orders … enabling us to confirm our revenues, net margin and dividend outlook for the whole of the 2017 financial year." It delivered 21 containment orders: 18 for LNG/ethane carriers, 2 for FSRUs and 1 FLNG in 1H2017.

Mark Smedley