Dubai’s Drydocks World has announced that it will build the world’s largest marine turret for SBM Offshore at its Dubai shipyard, which will form part of Shell’s pioneering floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility at the prelude gas field offshore Australia.
The scope of the yard’s work is to fabricate and load-out the internal turret in six modules, for an undisclosed sum. Design, material and equipment are provided by SBM Offshore.
The turret – 30 metres in diameter, 90 metres high and weighing 11,500 tonnes – will be shipped to and integrated with Shell’s FLNG at Samsung Heavy Industry’s yard in Korea.
SBM Offshore was awarded the turret contract by Technip (part of the “TSC” consortium formed by Technip and Samsung Heavy Industries) for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the FLNG Turret Mooring System.
The Turret Mooring System will anchor the FLNG facility at location for the duration of production operations, without the need to disconnect. The design allows the FLNG facility, to weathervane passively and resist prevailing weather conditions, including extreme Category 5 cyclone events.
“We are delighted to have signed for another pioneering project with SBM Offshore,” said Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman of Drydocks World and Maritime World. “We have together completed several groundbreaking projects that have led the way for implementing technological innovations in oil and gas exploration and production.”
The rest of the Shell Prelude FLNG is being built by the TSC Consortium at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje, Korea. It will be the largest floating offshore facility in the world, measuring 488 metres from bow to stern and weighing around 600,000 tonnes fully loaded. It will be moored over 200 kilometres from land and will produce gas from offshore subsea fields, treat and liquefy it onboard via a cooling process before storing and exporting the LNG via conventional LNG carriers.
