Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has received an order worth roughly KRW250bn ($221m) from a consortium of Marubeni, Sojitz, and Pertamina to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).

The newly announced order for the 170,00m³ vessel represents SHI's 19th LNG-FSRU newbuild deal.

The vessel will be the first to feature SHI’s own LNG regasification system, ‘S-Regas (GI)'. 

It will be designed to function as a specialised vessel-like facility to regasify LNG offshore for direct supply onshore.

S-Regas (GI) is able minimise the chance of corrosion compared to traditional methods of heating LNG directly with seawater.

The system is also capable of reducing energy usage by approximately 5%. SHI demonstrated the S-Regas (GI) system to 19 ship-owning companies last month.    

A representative of SHI said: “The successful showcase of the in-house regasification system led to an actual application in the new LNG-FSRU in just a month.

“Cost savings and improvement in quality and schedule management from the in-house regasification system led to a competitive edge.

“SHI will continue to lead LNG-FSRU market with unyielding efforts to meet customer needs such as low operating costs and reliable operability.”

SHI previously secured a deal in May to build two small-scale liquefied natural gas carriers (LNGCs), known as KOGAS.

The $100m deal will see the construction of two 7,500m³ LNG vessels, which are expected to be used to transport LNG from Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, to Jeju Island in South Korea.

Image: A LNG-powered floating storage and regasification unit. Photo: courtesy of Samsung Heavy Industries co.