Oil giant Shell says it expects to develop two gas fields off Western Australia using new technology that could pave the way for many other projects to become viable.

What exactly is LNG ?
Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is natural gas that has been supercooled to
minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 162 degrees Celcius). At that temperature, natural gas condenses into a liquid. When in liquid form, natural gas takes up to 600 times less space than in its gaseous state, which makes it feasible to transport over long distances.

So what engineering is needed in order to move forwards?

Shell Gas & Power Developments BV (Shell) signed a master agreement on 28th July 2009 with a consortium comprising Technip and Samsung for the design, construction and installation of multiple floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facilities over a period of up to fifteen years. Shell and Technip-Samsung also signed a contract for execution of the front end engineering and design (FEED) for Shell's 3.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) FLNG solution.