SINGAPORE - Keppel Shipyard has secured a US$705 million (S$932 million) ship conversion deal from Nasdaq-listed Golar LNG.

It will repurpose a vessel meant to transport liquified natural gas into a floating LNG conversion plant, or "floating liquefaction vessel", it said on Wednesday.

The new ship will have added capabilities in tapping gas fields in the seabed and shorten time taken to convert unprocessed gas into LNG.

This was Keppel Shipyard's second such contract from Golar in six months. In July, it clinched a contract for a first-of-its-kind conversion of a vessel into a floating LNG conversion plant for US$735 million.

Golar is one of the world's largest independent owners and operators of LNG carriers.

The new deal will bring Keppel Shipyard's new orders for 2014 to $5 billion. The company will design the vessel and undertake engineering and procurement of marine systems and all related construction services for the job. It will also engage Black & Veatch, an infrastructure consulting firm, to provide design, procurement and support services.

Mr Michael Chia, managing director of marine and technology at parent company Keppel Offshore & Marine, said: "We, together with Golar LNG and our partner Black & Veatch, are confident that conversion solutions for floating liquefaction vessels are indeed the answer to a need to bring small and mid-scale LNG supplies to the market in a more timely and cost-efficient manner."

Construction of the new vessel will start when Golar gives Keppel the green light.