announced an agreement to build up to 10 LNG FPSOs, at the same Samsung Yard. Flex LNG appeared to construct smaller units. On May 20, 2011, Royal Dutch Shell announced the planned development of a 488 m long and 74 m wide floating liquefied natural gas facility (FLNG), called Prelude, which is to be situated 200 km off the coast of Western Australia and is due for completion in around 2016. It will be the largest vessel ever built. Royal Dutch Shell (2013), LNG FPSO (Liquefied Natural Gas Floating production Storage and Offloading), Samsung Heavy Industries at a cost of $12 Billion. In June 2012, Petronas made a contract of procurement engineering, construction, installation and commissioning, with the Technip and DSME consortium, for what is expected to be the world's first floating liquefaction unit when completed in 2015. The unit is destined for the Kanowit gas field off Sarawak, Malaysia. At the opposite (discharge and regasification) end of the LNG chain, the first ever conversion of an LNG carrier, Golar LNG owned Moss type LNG carrier into an LNG floating storage and regasification unit was carried out in 2007 by Keppel shipyard in Singapore. Mechanisms Oil produced from offshore production platforms can be transported to the mainland either by pipeline or by tanker. When a tanker is chosen to transport the oil, it is necessary to accumulate oil in some form of storage tank, such that the oil tanker is not continuously occupied during oil production, and is only needed once sufficient oil has been produced to fill the tanker. Advantages Floating production, storage and offloading vessels are particularly effective in remote or deep water locations, where seabed pipelines are not cost effective. FPSOs eliminate the need to lay expensive long-distance pipelines from the processing facility to an onshore terminal. This can provide an economically attractive solution for smaller oil fields, which can be exhausted in a few years and do not justify the expense of installing a pipeline. Once the field is depleted, the FPSO can be moved to a new location. New build FPSOs have a high initial cost (up to USD1 billion), but require limited maintenance. In addition, the ability to reposition/repurpose them means they can outlast the life of the production facility by decades. A cheaper alternative for smaller platforms is to convert an oil tanker or similar vessel at a cost below USD100 million. Record