Shell Australia’s Prelude floating LNG facilities in the Browse basin offshore Western Australia have produced and shipped their first cargo of condensate.
The 116,000-dwt tanker Advantage Atom loaded the cargo last week.
There is no indication yet when the LNG shipments will begin from the FLNG vessel moored 475 km north-northeast of Broome and 155 km off Western Australia in 248 m of water.
The facilities entered the start-up and ramp-up phase at yearend 2018—an initial phase of production where gas and condensate is produced and moved through the facility.
Once fully operational, Prelude will produce 3.6 million tonnes/year of LNG, 1.3 million tpy of condensate, and 400,000 tpy of LPG.
LNG and LPG will be offloaded via a side-by-side vessel configuration with specially designed cryogenic loading arms. The condensate is being offloaded from the rear of the facility using a floating hose mechanism.
Three stern thrusters enable the Prelude floating facility to maintain an optimum heading for offtake operations.
Shell said the focus continues to be on providing a controlled environment to ensure Prelude will operate reliably and safely now and into the future.