Shell Postpones Prelude LNG Turnaround Until Next Year
Shell plc SHEL recently stated that it is deferring the planned maintenance work at the Prelude floating liquefied natural gas facility, which was due to begin in September. The postponement came following the continued industrial action at the site situated off northwest Australia.
A Shell spokesperson mentioned in emailed comments, “As a result of the ongoing Protected Industrial Action and inability to complete preparation work, we are not able to proceed with the planned turnaround at this time.”
The London-headquartered firm said that the extensive maintenance work, called a turnaround, would be delayed until sometime next year contingent on numerous factors, including weather conditions and contractor availability, and when the strike action comes to a conclusion.
Situated in the Browse Basin, Prelude came back into operation in April after being closed last December due to power failures initiated by a fire but was again shut last month due to work stoppages and strikes by workers. SHEL is the operator of the 3.6-million-ton-a-year Prelude facility and owns a 67.5% interest. Other partners in the project include Japan’s Inpex with a 17.5% stake, Korea’s Kogas with 10% ownership and Taiwan’s CPC holding the remaining 5%.
