Designing cleaner fuels and facilities, and reducing the carbon footprint

Nello Uccelletti, President Onshore Offshore, TechnipFMC, talks about his company’s strategy for future of gas and LNG

What new markets is TechnipFMC looking to move into in the coming years and what will be the relevant importance of gas and LNG?

We are supporting our clients in their current activities in oil and gas and also in new energy fields. In addition to our extensive skills in oil and gas, we are among industry leaders in hydrogen, biofuels and renewable chemicals.

We believe that global energy demand will continue to increase. Along with clean energies and renewables, gas is forecast to be the main contributor to energy growth in the next 25 years. So we will remain very active in gas and LNG, which is quickly becoming the de facto format for international trade in natural gas.

What do you see as the greatest opportunities for gas and LNG in the future and what are the main challenges? How could TechnipFMC contribute to these opportunities?

We are seeing more and more investments in gas. Gas will represent more than 50 percent of the majors’ total production within 10 years. Because of the future mismatch between LNG offers supply and demand,, investment should increase further in the next two years. TechnipFMC will support the needs of our clients from the earliest project stages. Early engagement allows us to influence the technological and project choices, bringing strong opportunity to influence cost and schedule. Our activity in the short term should be concentrated in Russia, Africa and the Middle East. We will continue to invest in innovation and technology. But innovation is not only related to technology, it is also first and foremost about people, operating processes and project management.

What innovations in project development are currently benefitting gas and LNG projects in which TechnipFMC is involved?

First, we are facing solving for new challenges with bigger and more complex projects that require a unique combination of resources, technical and technological skills, sophisticated equipment, logistics and the involvement of multiple engineering centers and construction sites. We have succeeded in introducing significant improvements in equipment and associated facilities and in selectivity, materials and process technologies. We now are focusing on designing cleaner fuels and gas facilities, reducing our carbon footprint, eliminating emissions and reducing or stopping flaring, which is absolutely necessary for a sustainable future.

But innovation is not only about products and technology. In particular in a cost contained execution paradigm, such as in remote areas not supported by infrastructure, we are introducing a step change in modularization by combining onshore skills with structural design capabilities from our offshore teams. With the Yamal LNG project, we succeeded in delivering on time 142 quality modules fabricated by 10 different yards in Russia. With floating LNG, we accomplished one of the most impressive feats of engineering in developing Prelude, the world’s largest floating LNG facility in one of the most remote corners of the globe. All of these innovations were made possible thanks to a strong collaboration between the client and the contractor of course, but also between the contractor and the supply chain.

Lastly, regarding working processes and apart from continuous improvement of our operating processes and project management tools, we are becoming more and more centered as data integrators verses document integrators. This digital transformation changes the way we work together and removes gaps that can hinder us. Already we are implementing real-time reporting for construction activities and soon we will benefit from the advantages of the digital twin in operations.

What can the industry do to attract a new generation of talent?

Our business is brain intensive. Skilled people are key to project successes. In LNG, we are experiencing increased technological and execution challenges. We need people with strong engineering and technological backgrounds with the ability to execute complex projects. Offering the opportunity to participate in projects with international exposure is appealing for many young people. To attract new talents, our industry has to monitor the growth, training and career paths of our people and identify those with high potential to become the technicians, engineers and project directors of tomorrow.

In addition to promoting gas as a transition fuel and pushing for better operational efficiency, our industry needs to focus on more diversified activities such as renewables and green chemistry to help engage the talent of tomorrow.

How can events such as Gastech further collaboration across the sector?

We meet with our clients and partners on a regular basis, and events such as Gastech clearly accelerate efficient communications. These events serve as excellent gathering places that promote mutual business relationships through meetings and other top-level activities. Gastech also plays a big role in attracting the young engineers and technicians the oil and gas industry needs.