Shell announced that the first shipment of LNG has sailed from Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility. The shipment delivered by the Spain-flagged 173,400-CM Valencia Knutsen LNG carrier to “customers in Asia”, Shell said; however declined to reveal when the FLNG project would reach full capacity.
The Prelude FLNG project’s shareholders are Shell (Operator) 67.5%, INPEX 17.5%, Kogas 10%, and Taiwan’s CPC 5%, according to the Global LNG Database.
Global LNG Info had estimated that the FLNG project may cost about $US2.5 billion more than the original $US12 billion estimate as its first cargo had been scheduled for 2018.
The Shell-operated Prelude FLNG facility will separate and liquefy the gas produced from Prelude and Concerto gas fields in Block WA-44-L located 475-Km north-northeast of Broome, off the coast of Western Australia offshore.
The Prelude FLNG facility aimed to produce 3.6 MMT/Y of LNG, 0.4 MMT/Y of LPG (at peak) and 1.3 MMT/Y of Condensate (at peak). These products will then be directly loaded from the facility onto tankers and shipped in sequence.
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On 26 Dec. 2018, Australian Prelude FLNG project’s partner, INPEX announced that the gas wells have recently been opened at the project’s liquefaction facility and the initial phase of production has commenced.
Prelude FLNG facility had received the first LNG test cargo onboard Gallina LNG carrier in June as Shell has noted that the introduction of hydrocarbons into the facility will allow the test of processes and systems before the subsea wells are opened and before the start-up.
It was the first time a vessel has berthed side by side with Prelude and tested its offloading arms, in reverse order to how this will work once Prelude FLNG is operational. “Once onboard, the LNG makes its way through process equipment and pipework and is stored within tanks in the hull of the facility. These tanks have been designed to withstand the sloshing of the product that could happen due to the movement of the facility.”
Shell had added that four of the LNG tanks are now full [as of June 2018]. Introduction of natural gas will allow the Prelude FLNG’s utilities to switch to gas rather than diesel. The next step will be to test and ready the LNG plant on board Prelude in preparation for opening the wells. This is followed by a period called start-up, ramp-up, after which LNG will be produced, Shell had said.
On 14 Feb. 2019, Shell Australia chairman Zoe Yujnovich revealed that the operator is in no rush with the commissioning process of its Prelude FLNG facility as it has already started feeding the gas into the pipes in the third quarter last year and opened up a number of wells and fed the gas to the unit for liquefaction in December. “We’re taking time to do this safely and remaining in control.”
On 25 Mar. 2019, Shell announced that it has shipped the first condensate cargo from its Prelude FLNG project. However, the operator declined to say when it expects the first Prelude LNG cargo.

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