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Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell has announced that the Prelude and Concerto gas discoveries in Australia will be the first to be developed using its floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) technology.
The company is spending around US$50 billion on FLNG, which gives Shell the ability to process gas ‘in situ’ over an offshore gas field.
While pending a final investment decision, the Prelude FLNG Project is now in the front end engineering and design (FEED) phase of development. The FEED for Prelude is being undertaken as part of Shell’s contract with the Technip-Samsung Heavy Industries consortium for the design, construction and installation of multiple FLNG facilities.
“Shell is excited to be progressing with FLNG technology, which has the potential to unlock some of Australia’s ‘stranded’ gas reserves that have previously been considered uneconomic to develop because of their small size or distance from shore,” Malcolm Brinded, Shell’s Executive Director, Upstream International, said.
“FLNG technology adds to Shell’s LNG leadership – we are already the largest LNG marketer amongst the international oil companies, and are technical advisor to many of the world’s LNG facilities,” he added.
The project is located in the Browse Basin off the northwest coast of Western Australia and will produce LNG, condensate and liquefied petroleum gas during its 20-plus years of operation.