Shell’s Prelude to stay offline until deemed safe

Shell’s Prelude project has suffered a setback as the floating LNG (FLNG) plant was ordered to halt production last month.

Following a fire onboard the facility, the environmental regulator directed the facility to stay offline until Shell could adequately demonstrate safety measures, which could involve the removal of 1.5 million tonnes of production off the market through 2022.

The FLNG facility is 475 km north-northeast of Broome in Western Australia, which is designed to extract, liquify and store natural gas at sea prior to transporting it and shipping it to customers.

The fire on board was reported in early December 2021 and caused a complete power outage on the facility which was hosting approximately 200 personnel at the time.

An inspection and investigation by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) was ordered following the incident which resulted in the order to continue the halt on production.

Shell must now prove that Prelude can safely recover, by developing a detailed plan and schedule to implement the appropriate corrective measures.

The facility is to date still not operational, and its absence is speculated to tighten an already trouble international market.