Prelude FLNG project ships first condensate cargos

March 26, 2019
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.

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.