A rendering of Prelude, which when completed is expected to be the largest floating structure ever built. High costs are driving energy companies into the sea. In an effort to cut expenses, an increasing number of natural-gas producers are planning to pack entire gas-production plants onto superships bigger than aircraft carriers instead of building expensive land-based industrial complexes. These huge floating gas factories are creating a multibillion-dollar market for Asian shipyards, especially South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. , Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Co. The new fleet of floating liquefied natural-gas vessels, or FLNGs, also demonstrates how the global race to provide cheaper gas supplies to Asian economies is pushing the boundaries of technology in the oil-and-gas sector. Oil-and-gas exploration is going deeper and farther into the oceans, and the size of gas discoveries is shrinking, making it more economical to build a single floating facility and move […]