Shell Australia has confirmed that its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility has arrived in Australian waters (photo: Shell)

Shell Australia has confirmed that its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility has arrived in Australian waters.

Prelude is the first deployment of Shell’s FLNG technology, that will see a 488 metre long floating facility extracting and liquefying gas at sea, before it is exported to customers around the globe. The project is located approximately 475 km north-north east of Broome in Western Australia.

Shell Australia Chairman Zoe Yujnovich says the arrival of the Prelude FLNG facility signalled a new era for the Australian LNG export industry, with the first floating liquefaction facility deployed in local waters: “Prelude’s arrival is a clear demonstration of Shell’s long standing commitment to investment and development in Australia – delivering significant economic benefits to the nation.”

Yujnovich says Shell had awarded a majority of Prelude contracts to Australian contractors, including the contract awarded to Australian engineering company Monadelphous for maintenance and modification services valued at USD 200 million.

“Prelude is an Australian project and Shell has recognised how important it is to build strong partnerships with Australian industry,” she says.

“To develop and maintain a safe, high performance culture on the facility, Shell has partnered with South Metropolitan TAFE in Western Australia to develop specific training for Prelude technicians. One hundred and fifty technicians have been trained across a broad range of critical skills, including helicopter landing and refuelling skills, rigging, scaffolding and first aid. West Australian based company CIVMEC, a construction and engineering services provider, constructed the four massive anchor piles for Prelude’s subsea flowlines from their facility in Henderson.”

The Prelude project will employ 260 local workers on board the facility during operations and create over a 1,500 jobs during the hook-up and commissioning phase of the project. Shell expects to see cashflow from the project during 2018.

Tags: Monadelphous, Shell Australia, South Metropolitan TAFE