Name and Location
Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project, Australia.

Client
Shell is the operator of the Prelude FLNG project 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).

Project Description
The Prelude FLNG facility will be deployed in Australian waters more than 200 km from the nearest point on the coast and will remain in operation for about 25 years.

The FLNG project will enable Shell to produce natural gas at sea, turn it into LNG and then transfer it directly to the ships that will transport it to customers. It will enable the development of gas resources ranging from clusters of smaller, more remote fields to potentially larger fields through multiple facilities where, owing to various 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.

The facility has been designed to withstand the severest cyclones – up to category 5. Ocean-going LNG carriers will offload other products and liquefied gas, chilled to –162 °C and shrunk in volume 600 times, directly from the facility out at sea for delivery to markets worldwide. Until now, the liquefaction of offshore gas has always involved piping the gas to a land-based plant. The facility will produce at least 5.3-million tonnes a year of liquids, comprising 3.6-million tonnes a year of LNG, 1.3-million tonnes a year of condensate (equivalent to 35 000 bbl/d) and 400 000 t/y of liquefied petroleum gas.

When completed, the facility will be 488 m long and 74 m wide, making it the largest offshore floating facility ever built. When fully equipped and with its cargo tanks full, it will weigh more than 600 000 t. There will be more than 3 000 km of electrical and instrumentation cables, the distance from Barcelona to Moscow, on the FLNG facility.

Value
The project will cost an estimated $12-billion.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The 488-m-long hull of Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility has been floated out of the dry dock at the Samsung Heavy Industries yard in Geoje, South Korea, where the facility is currently under construction. Once complete, the Prelude FLNG will be the largest floating facility ever built. It will unlock new energy resources offshore and produce about 3.6-million tonnes of LNG a year to meet growing demand.

Prelude is the first deployment of Shell’s FLNG technology and will operate in a remote basin about 475 km north-east of Broome, in Western Australia, for about 25 years. The facility will remain on site, regardless of the weather, as it has been designed to withstand a category 5 cyclone.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Technip Samsung Consortium (lead contractor).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Shell International media relations, tel +44 20 7934 5550.
Shell Australia Media Relations, tel +61 417 007 344.