Shell FLNG unit floated

Shell’s 488-metre-long hull Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility has been floated out of the dry dock at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) yard in Geoje, South Korea, where the facility is currently under construction.

On completion, Prelude FLNG will be the largest floating facility to date. Its purpose is to unlock new energy resources offshore and produce approximately 3.6 million tpa of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet increasing demand.

FLNG will enable Shell to produce LNG at sea and then transfer it directly to the ships that will transport it to customers. It will also enable the development of gas resources ranging from clusters of smaller more remote fields to potentially larger fields via multiple facilities where, for a number of reasons, an onshore development is not viable. This can mean faster, cheaper, more flexible development and deployment strategies for resources that were previously uneconomic, or constrained by technical or other risks.

Prelude FLNG is the first deployment of Shell’s FLNG technology and will operate in a remote basin around 475 km north-east of Broome, Western Australia for around 25 years. The facility will remain onsite during all weather events, having been designed to withstand a category 5 cyclone.Shell is the operator of Prelude FLNG in joint venture with INPEX (17.5%), KOGAS (10%) and OPIC (5%), working with long-term strategic partners Technip and Samsung Heavy Industries (the Technip Samsung Consortium).

Adapted from press release by Ted Monroe

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