Floating Liquified Natural Gas Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Technology (LNG FPSO, FSRU), By Capacity (Small Scale, Large Scale) and Regional Forecast, 2024-2032

Energy consumption is increasing day-by-day on account of the growing population and power consumption per capita. Although there is an increasing trend of power production from renewable sources, power production from oil and gas dominates the power production. The clean combustion of natural gas helps in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Floating liquified natural gas plays an important role to cater to increasing demand for natural gas.

Floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) is used to describe an offshore facility floating above a natural gas field. FLNGs produce, liquefy, store and transfer liquefied natural gas via carrier ship to the mainland. The FLNG facility is moored directly above the natural gas field. It routes gas from the field to the facility via risers. The gas is then processed and treated to remove impurities and liquefied through freezing, before being stored in the hull. Ocean-going carriers will offload the LNG, as well as the other liquid by-products, for delivery to markets worldwide.

Based on technology, the floating liquified natural gas market is segmented in LNG FPSO and FSRU. LNG FPSOs are offshore floating production units that contain both gas processing and liquefaction equipment as well as storage for the produced LNG. The unit could have a fixed mooring or be equipped with a turret.

The main difference between an LNG carrier and an FSRU is the presence of a re-gasification plant. The FSRU could either be purpose-built or a rebuild of a conventional LNG carrier, which is fitted with a re-gasification plant. The FSRU receives LNG from arriving shuttle tankers via loading equipment fitted amidships or in the aft part of the unit. The transferred LNG is diverted to the storage tanks situated below the main deck. The re-gasification plant receives LNG from the storage tanks, and the vaporized natural gas is fed into a pipeline.

The primary market driver for the global floating liquified natural gas market is the increase in demand for natural gas in countries like India, USA, and China. Favorable government policies are a big boost for floating liquified natural gas. Ongoing research is going on clean combustion of natural gas to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.

The key market restraint for the global floating liquefied natural gas market is the rise of renewable power generation and growth of battery storage technology. Countries are opting for renewable power generation to fulfill UN agreement on climate change.

Key Players Covered

Some of the notable companies in the global floating liquified natural gas market are Shell, Linde Engineering, Eni, Excelerate Energy, Bechtel Corporation, Chiyoda Corporation, Bluewater, GC Corporation, Höegh LNG, Golar LNG, and Exmar.

Regional Analysis

The global floating liquified natural gas market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The Asia-Pacific region is set to dominate the floating liquified natural gas market. Natural gas exploration and extraction activities in Asia-Pacific are less than few regions of the world, the LNG consumption of the Asia-Pacific region is the largest in the world. Several floating liquified natural gas import terminals and FSRU are in planning and execution phase in countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, China, etc.

LNG FPSU is the preferred technology in newer natural gas exploration and extraction activities in South-East Asia and China. The upcoming projects of natural gas exploration and extraction activities surrounding the African continents use the Floating LNG technology. African region has untapped potential for natural gas. Similar to Asia-Pacific region, several countries in Europe, North America, and Latin America have floating LNG import terminals and FSRU is in planning and execution phase.

 Segmentation

Key Industry Developments

•  In May 2019, Indian’s first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal was inaugurated by the country’s gas company H-Energy, a unit of Hiranandani Group. Eni’s floating storage re-gasification unit (FSRU) GDF SUEZ Cape Ann was hired for the job. The 145,000 cbm FSRU arrived at the LNG re-gasification project at Jaigarh port in Maharashtra.


• In August 2019, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) announced plans to invest Rs1,500-1,700 crore in building a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh by 2022.