Royal Dutch Shell has taken the final investment decision on the 'Prelude' floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project in Australia, building the world's first FLNG facility. Moored far out to sea, some 200 kilometres from the nearest land in Australia, the FLNG facility will produce gas from offshore fields, and liquefy it onboard by cooling.
The decision means that Shell is now ready to start detailed design and construction of what will be the world's largest floating offshore facility, in a shipyard in South Korea.
From bow to stern, Shell's FLNG facility will be 488 metres long, and will be the largest floating offshore facility in the world – longer than four soccer fields laid end to end. When fully equipped and with its storage tanks full, it will weigh around 600,000 tonnes – roughly six times as much as the largest aircraft carrier.
"Our innovative FLNG technology will allow us to develop offshore gas fields that otherwise would be too costly to develop," said Malcolm Brinded, Shell's Executive Director, Upstream International. "Our decision to go ahead with this project is a true breakthrough for the LNG industry, giving it a significant boost to help meet the world's growing demand for the cleanest-burning fossil fuel.
"FLNG technology is an exciting innovation, complementary to onshore LNG, which can help accelerate the development of gas resources."
The facility has been designed to withstand the severest cyclone – those of Category 5. Ocean-going LNG carriers will offload liquefied gas, chilled to minus 162 Celsius and shrunk in volume by 600 times, and other products, 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.
Shell has progressed the 'Prelude' FLNG project at a rapid pace, with first production of LNG expected some ten years after the gas was discovered.
The FLNG facility will tap around three trillion cubic feet equivalent of resources contained in the Prelude gas field. Shell discovered the Prelude gas field in 2007.
According to Shell, some 110,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of expected production from Prelude should underpin at least 5.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquids, comprising 3.6mtpa of LNG, 1.3mtpa of condensate and 0.4mtpa of liquefied petroleum gas. The FLNG facility will stay permanently moored at the Prelude gas field for 25 years, and in later development phases should produce from other fields in the area where Shell has an interest.
