Prelude FLNG
Royal Dutch Shell's Prelude FLNG is a very large floating liquefied natural gas project by Shell. When complete, it is expected to be the largest floating object ever made;[1] it would be 488 metres long and made with more than 260,000 tonnes of steel.[2] In operation, it would weigh more than 600000 tonnes; it is more than five times the size of an aircraft carrier.[3]
Construction
The main double-hulled structure, effectively a very large ship, is being built by Samsung Heavy Industries, in the Geoje shipyard in South Korea. Construction was "officially" said to have started when the first metal was cut in October 2012. The turret mooring system and other equipment such as wells are being constructed in other places around the world.
Subsea equipment is being built by FMC Technologies, and Emerson is the main supplier of automation systems.[4]
Operations
The Prelude FLNG system will be used in the Prelude and Concerto gas fields in the Browse Basin,[4] 200km off the coast of Australia; drilling is expected to begin in 2013.
Natural gas would be extracted from wells and liquified (chilling it to –162°C). 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.
The system is designed to withstand Category 5 cyclones. It would produce 110,000 BOE per day.
The project is a joint venture with KOGAS and Inpex.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Prelude". Shell. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ "Construction of Prelude FLNG begins". Upstream Online. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ "The Prelude FLNG Project". Energy & Capital. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Shell's Prelude FLNG Project, Browse Basin, Australia". Offshore Technology. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ "Steel Cutting for Prelude FLNG Begins in South Korea". Offshore Energy Today. Retrieved 28 October 2012.