Project slated to tap offshore Australian gas.
Perth, Australia | – Royal Dutch Shell said Friday the largest piece of the turret for Shell’s Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility, the largest floating liquefied natural gas facility in the world is on the way to a South Korean shipyard.
Shell said the turret module, part of the mooring system, is on its way from Dubai to a shipyard in South Korea, where the entire FLNG is set for construction.
The final product will eventually be deployed in Australia for the next 25 years.
Prelude will allow Shell to produce LNG at sea and deliver it directly to shipping vessels. The project for Shell means it has more flexibility with offshore gas reserves in terms of development and deliverability.
Shell said it’s the first company in the world to commit to a FLNG facility. The turret itself is more than 300 feet high and is part of a component that will be the largest structure of its kind in the world.
Shell said the facility will operate from a site about 125 miles off the coast of Australia in the Prelude and Concerto basins. At its peak, it will be able to produce about 3.6 million tons of LNG per year.
Matthias Bichsel, a technology director at Shell, said the facility’s flexibility means it will help address global needs for natural gas.
“Designed in Monaco, built in Dubai, shipped to South Korea and for use off Australia, the turret is an example of the truly global nature of this project,” he said in a statement.
After its 25 year Australian stint, Prelude FLNG will be refurbished and redeployed for a further 25 years.
