VIDEO: Prelude FLNG Enters Australian Waters

Shell Australia’s Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility has arrived in Australian waters, the company confirmed.

A total of 16 pre-positioned mooring chains will now be lifted from the seabed and secured to the facility. Once secure, the hook-up and commissioning phase of the project can commence which is expected to take between 9-12 months.

The world’s largest offshore facility ever constructed started its journey from South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industry to Australia at the end of June.

Prelude FLNG was towed over 3,000 nautical miles by Terasea Hawk, Tereasea Falcon and Terasea Osprey, operated by Singapore-based offshore service contractor POSH Terasea.

Prelude is the first deployment of Shell’s FLNG technology, that will see the 488-metre long floating facility extracting and liquefying gas at sea, before it is exported around the globe. The project is located approximately 475km north-north east of Broome in Western Australia.

Shell Australia Chairman Zoe Yujnovich said the arrival of the Prelude FLNG facility signalled “a new era for the Australian LNG export industry”, with the first floating liquefaction facility deployed in local waters.

The Prelude project will employ 260 local workers on board the facility during operations and create over 1500 jobs during the hook-up and commissioning phase of the project. Shell expects to see cashflow from the project during 2018.

Prelude FLNG in numbers

• 4 soccer fields, laid end to end, would be shorter than the facility’s deck
• 6 of the largest aircraft carriers would displace the same amount of water as the facility
• 200km (125 miles) is the distance from the Prelude field to the nearest land 
• 117% of Hong Kong’s annual natural gas demand could be met by the facility’s annual LNG production
• 20-25 years is the time the Prelude FLNG facility will stay at the location to develop gas fields

Image Courtesy: Shell