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Shell secures Prelude FLNG with 16 mooring chains

August 18, 2017

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has connected all 16 mooring lines of its giant Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) vessel set at the Prelude field, offshore Australia. 

The 488-meter-long and 74-meter-wide floating facility left the shipyard in South Korea in late June and reached the Australian waters in late July. It was built by the Technip-Samsung consortium.

The unit is now located in the Browse Basin, approximately 475km north-north east of Broome in Western Australia.

Shell informed of its progress with the project through a social media update on Friday. Sharing the latest drone footage of the giant floating unit, Shell said the FLNG has now been moored.

The 16 mooring chains were pre-positioned on the seabed and then lifted and secured to the facility. Once secure, the hook-up and commissioning phase of the whole production system can start, which is expected to take between 9-12 months.

The largest floating facility ever built will unlock new energy resources offshore and produce approximately 3.6 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. It will remain onsite during all weather events, having been designed to withstand a category 5 cyclone.

Prelude FLNG facility will stay at the location for 20 to 25 years.

The Prelude FLNG project is operated by Shell in joint venture with Inpex (17.5%), KOGAS (10%) and OPIC (5%).

Offshore Energy Today Staff