Oil Oil and Energy
Prelude FLNG is the world's largest floating liquefied natural gas platform as well as the largest offshore facility ever constructed. The Prelude was built by the Technip / Samsung Consortium (TSC) in South Korea for a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell, KOGAS, and Inpex. It is 488 metres (1,601 ft) long, 74 metres (243 ft) wide, and made with more than 260,000 tonnes of steel. The vessel will displace around 660,000 tonnes when fully loaded, more than five times the displacement of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.
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 has been subcontracted to SBM and has been built in Drydocks World Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The MEG reclamation unit by Fjords Processing Norway and built in South Korea is the only topside module subcontracted. Other equipment such as subsea wellheads are being constructed in other places around the world. It was launched on 30 November 2013 with no superstructure (accommodation and process plant).
The vessel is moored by its turret to 16 seabed driven steel piles, each 65-meters-long and 5.5 meters in diameter. Subsea equipment is being built by FMC Technologies, and Emerson is the main supplier of automation systems and uninterruptible power supply systems. By July 2015, all 14 gas plant modules were installed. Prelude FLNG was approved for funding by Shell in 2011.
Analyst estimates in 2013 for the cost of the vessel were between US$10.8 to 12.6 billion. Shell estimated in 2014 that the project would cost up to US$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.
The Prelude FLNG system will be used in the Prelude and Concerto gas fields in the Browse LNG Basin, 200 kilometres (120 mi) off the coast of Australia; drilling and gas production are both expected to begin in 2016. It has a planned life expectancy of 25 years. 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 liquified natural gas, 1.3 million tonnes of condensate, and 400,000 tonnes of liquified petroleum gas. More details
The vessel is moored by its turret to 16 seabed driven steel piles, each 65-meters-long and 5.5 meters in diameter. Subsea equipment is being built by FMC Technologies, and Emerson is the main supplier of automation systems and uninterruptible power supply systems. By July 2015, all 14 gas plant modules were installed. Prelude FLNG was approved for funding by Shell in 2011.
Analyst estimates in 2013 for the cost of the vessel were between US$10.8 to 12.6 billion. Shell estimated in 2014 that the project would cost up to US$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.
The Prelude FLNG system will be used in the Prelude and Concerto gas fields in the Browse LNG Basin, 200 kilometres (120 mi) off the coast of Australia; drilling and gas production are both expected to begin in 2016. It has a planned life expectancy of 25 years. 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 liquified natural gas, 1.3 million tonnes of condensate, and 400,000 tonnes of liquified petroleum gas. More details
