Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Market is projected to experience substantial growth, increasing from a valuation of USD 25.27 Billion in 2025 to USD 42.83 Billion by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate of 9.19%. These mobile offshore units are engineered to handle the extraction, liquefaction, storage, and direct offloading of natural gas from subsea reservoirs to transport carriers. A key factor propelling this sector is the ability to commercially exploit stranded or distant offshore gas deposits that would be economically impractical to tap using conventional long-distance underwater pipelines. Moreover, these floating assets provide enhanced deployment versatility and a smaller environmental footprint relative to fixed onshore terminals, granting operators the option to move facilities to different locations once current fields are exhausted.

Data from the International Gas Union indicates that operational floating liquefied natural gas capacity reached 14.35 million tonnes per annum in 2025. While this demonstrates operational advancement, the sector encounters substantial hurdles regarding high upfront capital costs and intricate technical requirements. These factors can place a heavy burden on the economic viability of projects, frequently resulting in postponements of final investment decisions for new initiatives.

Market Drivers

A major force driving the market is the ability to commercialize stranded and distant offshore gas reserves, making assets profitable that would otherwise be unfeasible to develop through standard subsea pipelines. FLNG systems facilitate on-site liquefaction, eliminating the necessity for vast onshore infrastructure and lowering the capital investment needed to reach isolated deepwater areas. This capacity to derive value from marginal fields has stimulated the creation of new mobile assets. For instance, Eni reported in a November 2024 press release regarding the 'Nguya FLNG' that it had launched the hull for a new floating unit with a liquefaction capacity of 2.4 million tonnes per annum, aiming to utilize offshore resources in the Republic of Congo.

Additionally, the market is bolstered by the rising global appetite for liquefied natural gas as a transitional energy source, with countries looking for dependable energy to balance intermittent renewable power and speed up the shift from coal to gas. This growing consumption, especially within Asia, requires the swift rollout of infrastructure, a need that floating solutions address more efficiently than fixed land-based facilities. Shell's 'LNG Outlook 2024', released in February 2024, projects that global demand for liquefied natural gas will increase by over 50 percent by 2040. In response to this trend, operators are approving new capacities; notably, Golar LNG announced a Final Investment Decision in 2024 for a Mark II floating liquefaction vessel with a 3.5 million tonnes per annum capacity, signaling robust market optimism.

Market Challenges

The expansion of the Global Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Market is primarily hindered by significant upfront capital costs and intricate technical challenges. In contrast to traditional onshore plants, FLNG vessels necessitate the installation of dangerous gas processing and liquefaction equipment within the confined space and weight limits of a marine structure. This dense engineering requirement drastically raises initial expenses and brings about operational risks associated with severe offshore conditions. Such elements establish a steep barrier to entry, compelling operators to undertake extended feasibility assessments and front-end engineering designs, which often places a strain on financial viability and leads investors to pause or retract backing for new projects.

These technical and economic strains have visibly slowed the rate of project approvals across the industry. The International Gas Union reported that in 2024, a mere 14.8 million tonnes per annum of new liquefaction capacity achieved a Final Investment Decision (FID). This statistic signifies a substantial drop in sanctioned projects relative to prior years, demonstrating how the high capital demands of liquefaction infrastructure are postponing the completion of new assets. Consequently, these delays in investment decisions impede the growth path of the FLNG market, hindering the timely exploitation of offshore gas reserves.

Market Trends

There is a growing trend among operators to favor small to mid-sized floating liquefaction units instead of large-scale vessels to lower financial exposure and speed up deployment schedules. This strategic shift encourages the use of standardized, modular designs that shorten construction times and permit near-shore installation, providing a more affordable option compared to intricate deepwater initiatives. By capping the size of the facility, companies can finalize contracts and achieve operational readiness more quickly than is possible with custom-built mega-projects. This preference for compact solutions is exemplified by Wison New Energies, which announced in a June 2024 press release that it had won an EPCIC contract for a 1.2 million tonnes per annum floating facility destined for Indonesia.

Simultaneously, the sector is witnessing a trend toward incorporating electrification and carbon mitigation technologies in response to tightening regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. Developers are busy overhauling vessel power architectures to use shore-to-ship power links or electric-driven compressors, substituting conventional gas turbines to decrease the carbon footprint of production. This technological advancement ensures compliance with international decarbonization standards while preserving operational performance. Highlighting this shift, Cedar LNG stated in a June 2024 press release that its newly sanctioned floating facility will run completely on renewable electricity supplied by BC Hydro, positioning it among the LNG facilities with the lowest carbon intensity worldwide.

Key Players Profiled in the Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Market

• Hoegh LNG Group
• Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.
• BASF SE
• Golar LNG Limited
• Eni S.p.A.
• EXMAR GmbH
• Woodside Energy Group Ltd.
• Shell PLC
• Excelerate Energy, Inc.
• Petroliam Nasional Berhad

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Market, by Technology:

• LNG FPSO
• FSRU
• Others

Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Market, by End User:

• Small/Mid-Scale
• Large Scale
• Others

Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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