Prelude FLNG
{{Short description|Floating liquefied natural gas platform}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
| italic title = no | display title = Prelude FLNG }} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship career | Ship name = Prelude FLNG | Ship owner = Shell plc | Ship registry = Fremantle, Australia | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Australia}} | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Samsung Heavy Industries, Geoje Shipyard, South Korea | Ship original cost = {{US$|10-13 billion}} | Ship yard number = | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = October 2012 | Ship launched = December 2013 | Ship completed = July 2017 | Ship christened = | Ship acquired = | Ship maiden voyage = July 2017 | Ship in service = 2018 | Ship identification = {{IMO Number|9648714}} | Ship fate = | Ship status = Operational | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Ship type = Floating production storage and offloading | Ship tonnage = {{GT|300,000}}{{cite web |url=http://maritime-connector.com/ship/prelude-9648714/ |title=Prelude - 9648714 - Floating Storage/Production |work=Maritime Connector |access-date=17 December 2014}} | Ship displacement = 600,000 tonnes{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-13709293 |title=The gas platform that will be the world's biggest 'ship' |work=BBC News |first=Chris |last=Summers |date=15 July 2011 |access-date=17 December 2014}} | Ship length = {{convert|488|m|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|74|m|abbr=on}} | Ship height = {{convert|105|m|abbr=on}} | Ship draught = | Ship depth = | Ship decks = | Ship power = | Ship propulsion = | Ship speed = | Ship capacity = | Ship notes = }} |
Prelude FLNG is a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platform owned by Shell plc and built by the Technip–Samsung Consortium (TSC) in South Korea for a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell, KOGAS, and Inpex.{{cite press release |url=http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/steel-cutting-for-prelude-flng-begins-in-south-korea/ |title=Steel Cutting for Prelude FLNG Begins in South Korea |work=Offshore Energy |date=18 October 2012 |access-date=28 October 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193500/http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/steel-cutting-for-prelude-flng-begins-in-south-korea/ |archive-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://business.financialpost.com/2013/12/03/record-breaking-lng-ship-launched-bigger-one-planned/ |title=Shell's massive Prelude hull world's biggest-ever floating vessel and first ocean-based LNG plant |work=Financial Post |agency=Reuters and Associated Press |date=3 December 2013 |access-date=5 December 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204122306/http://business.financialpost.com/2013/12/03/record-breaking-lng-ship-launched-bigger-one-planned/ |archive-date=4 December 2013 |url-status=live |quote=Shell said Tuesday that the 488-metre (1,600 foot) hull of the structure, known as Prelude was floated out of the dry dock in Geoje, South Korea where she is being built.}} The hull was launched in December 2013.{{cite news|date=4 December 2013|title=Shell's record-breaking Prelude takes to the water|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-25213845|url-status=live|access-date=4 December 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204184139/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25213845|archive-date=4 December 2013}}
It is {{convert|488|m|ft}} long, {{convert|74|m|ft}} wide, {{convert|105|m|abbr=on}} tall, and made with more than 260,000 tonnes of steel, beating Seawise Giant (the previous record holder) as the world's longest vessel.{{cite web |url = https://www.helderline.com/tanker/prelude|title = PRELUDE}}{{cite news |url=http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article1268028.ece |title=Construction of Prelude FLNG begins |work=Upstream |first=Danica |last=Newnham |date=18 October 2012 |access-date=28 October 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124150508/http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article1268028.ece |archive-date=24 November 2012}} The vessel displaces around 600,000 tonnes when fully loaded, more than five times the displacement of a {{sclass|Nimitz|aircraft carrier}}.{{cite news |url=http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/the-prelude-flng-project/1673 |title=The Prelude FLNG Project |newspaper=Energy & Capital |first=Christian |last=DeHaemer |date=28 July 2011 |access-date=28 October 2012}} It is the world's largest FLNG platform, as well as the largest FLNG facility constructed to date.
Construction
The main double-hulled structure was built by the Technip Samsung Consortium in the Samsung Heavy Industries Geoje shipyard in South Korea. Construction was officially started when the first metal was cut for the substructure in October 2012. The Turret Mooring System was subcontracted to SBM and built in Drydocks World Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The MEG (monoethylene glycol) reclamation unit by Fjords Processing Norway and built in South Korea is the only topside module subcontracted. Other equipment such as subsea wellheads were constructed at other locations around the world. It was launched on 30 November 2013 with no superstructure (accommodation and process plant).{{cite web |url=http://www.shell.com.au/aboutshell/who-we-are/shell-au/operations/upstream/prelude/prelude-project-milestones.html |title=Prelude Project milestones |publisher=Shell Australia |access-date=17 September 2015}}
The vessel is moored by its turret to 16 seabed driven steel piles, each {{cvt|65|m}} long and {{cvt|5.5|m}} in diameter.
Subsea equipment was built by FMC Technologies, and Emerson is the main supplier of automation systems and uninterruptible power supply systems.{{cite web |url=http://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/shell-project/ |title=Shell's Prelude FLNG Project, Browse Basin, Australia |work=Offshore Technology |access-date=28 October 2012}} By July 2015, all 14 gas plant modules were installed.{{cite news |url=http://www.aogdigital.com/component/k2/item/5036-prelude-topsides-installed |title=Prelude topsides installed |work=Asian Oil & Gas |first=Melissa |last=Sustaita |date=8 July 2015 |access-date=17 September 2015}}
Cost and funding
Analyst estimates in 2013 for the cost of the vessel were between {{USD|10.8}} to $12.6 billion. Shell estimated in 2014 that the project would cost up to {{USD|3.5 billion}} per million tons of production capacity. Competitive pressures from an increase in the long-term production capabilities of North American gas fields due to hydraulic fracturing technologies and increasing Russian export capabilities may reduce the actual profitability of the venture from what was anticipated in 2011. In 2021, the WAToday news website reported that it was believed that the ship had cost at least {{USD|17.5 billion}}, though Shell has never confirmed the actual cost.{{cite news |last1=Milne |first1=Peter |title=Shell's giant $24b Prelude LNG ship shut down after fire |url=https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/western-australia/shell-s-giant-24b-prelude-lng-ship-shut-down-after-fire-20211203-p59em2.html |access-date=5 December 2021 |work=WAtoday |date=3 December 2021 |language=en}}
Operations
The Prelude FLNG system was built for use in the Prelude and Concerto gas fields in the Browse LNG Basin, {{convert|200|km}} off the coast of Australia; drilling and gas production were planned to begin in 2016. The system has a planned life expectancy of 25 years.{{cite news |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/5/5177600/shell-prelude-flng-made-by-samsung-heavy-industries |title=Made by Samsung, Shell's Prelude is an Empire State Building on water |work=The Verge |first=Vlad |last=Savov |date=5 December 2013 |access-date=5 December 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206010337/http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/5/5177600/shell-prelude-flng-made-by-samsung-heavy-industries |archive-date=6 December 2013 |url-status=live}} The Prelude and Concerto fields are expected to produce 5.3 million tonnes of liquid and condensate per year; this includes 3.6 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas, 1.3 million tonnes of condensate, and 400,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas.{{cite web |url=http://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/shell-project/ |title=Shell's Prelude FLNG Project, Browse Basin, Australia |work=Offshore Technology |access-date=9 October 2015}}
Natural gas will be extracted from wells and liquefied by chilling it to {{convert|-162|C|F}}. The ability to produce and offload LNG to large LNG carriers is an important innovation, which reduces costs and removes the need for long pipelines to land-based LNG processing plants. However, fitting all the equipment onto a single floating facility was a significant challenge.
The system is designed to withstand Category 5 cyclones, although workers may be evacuated before that on an EC225 rescue helicopter.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JALrK_GpAHg Prelude's "super" chopper] Video by Shell, 24 March 2015. According to plans, it will produce 110,000 BOE per day.{{cite news |url=http://business.financialpost.com/news/energy/record-breaking-lng-ship-launched-bigger-one-planned |title=Shell's massive Prelude hull world's biggest-ever floating vessel and first ocean-based LNG plant |work=Financial Post |agency=Reuters and the Associated Press |date=3 December 2013 |access-date=30 December 2014}}
On 25 July 2017, after a journey of {{convert|5800|km|mi|abbr=on}} from its construction site in South Korea, Prelude arrived on site in Western Australian waters. It was expected to become operational in 2018.{{cite news |url=http://www.ogj.com/articles/2017/07/prelude-floating-lng-facility-arrives-in-australia.html |title=Prelude floating LNG facility arrives in Australia |work=Oil & Gas Journal |date=25 July 2017 |access-date=24 October 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/shells-prelude-flng-reaches-australian-waters |title=Shell's Prelude FLNG Reaches Australian Waters |work=The Maritime Executive |date=25 July 2017 |access-date=24 October 2017}} On 26 December 2018, Royal Dutch Shell announced that initial production had begun at Prelude. Shell said that wells had been opened and that the start-up and ramp-up phases were underway.{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/world-s-largest-floating-lng-platform-starts-production-in-wa-20181226-p50ob1.html |title=World's largest floating LNG platform starts production in WA |work=Sydney Morning Herald |first=Jessica |last=Jaganathan |date=26 December 2018}}
Prelude was shut down in February 2020 after a reported electrical problem. The platform had previously suffered two incidents that saw the unintended release of gas, which NOPSEMA described as "dangerous".{{cite news |url=https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-21/worlds-largest-floating-lng-factory-remains-in-shutdown/12565490 |title=World's largest floating LNG factory remains in shutdown — at just three years old |work=ABC News |first=Ben |last=Collins|date=21 August 2020}} It restarted production in January 2021.{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-24/prelude-floating-gas-plant-restarts/13067684 |title=LNG production at Shell's Prelude gas processing plant in Western Australia restarts following 11-month closure |work=ABC News |first=Ben |last=Collins|date=24 January 2021}}
The ship's electrical supply was disrupted by a small fire on 2 December 2021. This led to the cessation of production and the evacuation of most of the crew.{{cite news |last1=Snow |first1=Madison |title=Shell's Prelude LNG vessel shuts operations, staff evacuation underway after electrical fire |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-05/electrical-fire-on-shell-prelude-flng-vessel-causes-evacuation/100675590 |access-date=5 December 2021 |work=ABC News |date=5 December 2021 |language=en-AU}}
As a result of repeated environmental and safety mishaps, NOPSEMA ordered the supermajor to not resume production for an indefinite period of time, pending Shell's ability to prove updated practices. According to NOPSEMA, Shell "did not have a sufficient understanding of the risks of the power system on the facility, including failure mechanisms, interdependencies, and recovery", adding that "power loss directly impacted critical safety systems along with the ability to safely evacuate crew by boat or helicopter."{{Cite web |date=4 January 2022 |title=The Many Growing Pains of Shell's Prelude FLNG Continue |url=https://jpt.spe.org/the-many-growing-pains-of-shells-prelude-flng-continue |access-date=22 May 2022 |website=JPT |language=en}}
In April 2022, the vessel resumed operations.{{Cite news |last=Paul |first=Sonali |date=11 April 2022 |title=Shell resumes shipping LNG from Prelude off Australia |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-resumes-shipping-lng-prelude-off-australia-2022-04-11/ |access-date=18 June 2022}} Operations were again partially stopped and then fully stopped during a strike which lasted 11 weeks until 25 August 2022.{{cite web|url=https://splash247.com/shell-reaches-deal-with-unions-to-restart-prelude-flng/|title=Shell reaches deal with unions to restart Prelude FLNG|date=25 August 2022|access-date=7 September 2022}}
A Lego model of Prelude was built for a Shell trade show in 2014.{{cite news |url=https://www.thebrickman.com/throwback-thursday-lego-brick-shell_prelude-flng-facility/ |title=Throwback Thursday Lego Brick Shell's Prelude FLNG Facility |work=Brickman |date=12 October 2017}} At nearly {{cvt|5|m}} long, the model currently resides in the foyer of Shell's head office in Perth, Australia.
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/magazine/the-biggest-ship-in-the-world-though-it-isnt-exactly-a-ship-.html |title=The Biggest Ship in the World (Though It Isn't Exactly a Ship) |work=The New York Times |first=Robert |last=Sullivan |date=31 October 2014}}
- {{YouTube |id=HcHhiATEogI |title=Shell: Prelude's maiden voyage}}
Category:Liquefied natural gas
Category:Natural gas platforms