Cefront – Improved hull design leads to greater stability and better economics for FLNG

Natural gas is the cleanest and most environmentally friendly fossil fuel, and as global demand for natural gas increases, the development of offshore Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) production technology is becoming an important factor in maintaining sustained growth. Although offshore FLNG production concepts have been the focus of research and development for decades, it is only in the last ten years that a few FLNG projects have achieved a Final Investment Decision (FID) and have progressed to detailed design and construction.

The Cefront FLNG vessel provides a more stable and economical platform for the offshore gas pre-treatment and liquefaction processes than conventional ship-shaped hulls. It is a further development of the axisymmetric hull and is more fabrication “friendly” and thereby less costly than earlier designs. The Cefront FLNG vessel has a more efficient topsides layout than the axisymmetric units, and at the same time it has significantly less pitch and roll motions than a conventional ship-shaped hull. This eliminates the need for expensive turret and swivel solutions.