Posts under ‘Australian National Offshore Petroleum and Environmental Management Authority’

The Biggest of the Biggest: Prelude FLNG, the Largest Floating Edifice of All Time

A project of oil and gas giant Shell, the Prelude is simultaneously a stellar engineering achievement and a financial black hole.

13 Aug 2022, 16:11 UTC: by Razvan Calin

Over 530 yards long, 80 yards wide, more than 300 feet tall, and 660,000 tones heavy. The largest floating structure the world has ever put out to see is the Prelude offshore natural gas facility. Completed in under five years, the colossal ship-looking titan is made to work a quarter of a century in rough South Pacific waters. read more

COMMENT SENT TO JOHN DONOVAN ABOUT THE  ILL-FATED SHELL PRELUDE PROJECT BY BILL CAMPBELL, RETIRED HSE GROUP AUDITOR, SHELL INTERNATIONAL

Seems such a long time ago since we watched the Hollywood quality videos of a happy bunch of comrades in arms assembled in a circle on the helideck. Halcyon days indeed.

The future then was so  hopefull, and filled with promise.

Almost hidden in the article re the industrial dispute was the report of a loss of LNG during transfer operations, I have stressed and explained many times why this simply cannot be allowed to happen and as you publish repeatedly, in your Prelude banner against my name, I predicted many moons ago that loss of hydrocarbons from Prelude was almost inevitable. read more

The Sydney Morning Herald

Shell Prelude’s two-month $500m strike delays major maintenance

By Peter Milne: August 9, 2022

Shell has delayed major maintenance on its troubled Prelude floating gas facility after negotiations over the weekend failed to end two months of industrial action.

The delay is another setback for Shell, which spent about $US17 billion ($24 billion) to build the world’s largest vessel that has suffered a multitude of production outages and serious safety issues since it arrived in West Australian waters five years ago. read more

abc.net.au

Shell drops plans to lock out Prelude workers from Western Australian offshore gas facility

ABC Kimberley / By Taylor Thompson-Fuller

Key points:

• The company blamed a lack of assurance from unions that safety functions would be carried out

• Union representatives said the claims were a “red herring” and they would not endanger safety of workers at the rig

• Industrial negotiations proposed via mediation ground to a halt

Shell has scrapped plans to lock workers out of its multi-billion dollar offshore gas facility, Prelude, citing safety concerns.

Workers onboard the facility 400 kilometres off Western Australia’s Kimberley coast are engaged in protected industrial action in a bid to push for better wages.

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant shut down the facility and suspended production in response to strikes earlier this month. read more

Shell to enforce lockout on Prelude as industrial dispute escalates

Sean Smith: The West Australian: Wed, 20 July 2022 9:57AM

The dispute over a new pay deal on Shell’s Prelude floating LNG plant off north-west WA has escalated again, with the energy giant flagging it will lock out workers from Monday.

The decision means those workers who are not on Prelude but support the protected industrial action by the Offshore Alliance will not be paid.

Those still on Prelude will only be paid for the time they work outside industrial stoppages. read more

abc.net.au

Shell halts production on floating gas platform Prelude amid worsening industrial dispute

ABC Kimberley / By Taylor Thompson-Fuller: 12  July 2022

Key points:

• The energy giant is locked in an increasingly bitter industrial dispute with its workforce, which has disrupted production in recent weeks

• A proposed enterprise agreement was rejected by 95 per cent of workers last week

• Even though Prelude only supplies the export market, an energy expert says the move could drive gas prices even higher

Agreement ‘substandard’, union says

The disagreement over wages has seen union members ban the performance of certain tasks onboard, including a stoppage on unloading cargo onto ships for delivery at certain times.

A Shell spokesperson said production at the facility had been suspended due to the “work bans currently in force under Protected Industrial Action … that prohibit offtake activities”.

“Until the bans on the offtake of cargoes are lifted and the plant can be safely restarted, staff required to perform safety-critical functions will remain on board while all other workers will be demobilised,” the spokesperson said. read more

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Shell to shut LNG vessel after workers reject $30,000 a year pay rise

David Marin-Guzman and Angela Macdonald-Smith: July 11. 2022

Shell will completely shut down its Prelude floating LNG vessel within days in response to unions escalating industrial action over pay, threatening further disruption of the global gas market. read more

REUTERS

Shell ships LNG from Australia’s Prelude despite staff stoppages

MELBOURNE, July 8 (Reuters) – Shell SHEL.L said on Friday it had loaded and shipped a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this week at its Prelude floating LNG facility after workers scaled down industrial action at the site off northwestern Australia.

The oil and gas giant slowed output at the 3.6-million tonne per year facility last week during a series of work stoppages by unions fighting for better pay and had warned that shipments would be disrupted for at least two weeks. read more

OILPRICE.COM

Shell Warns Of Prelude LNG Disruptions

By Irina Slav – Jun 29, 2022, 9:30 AM CDT

Prolonged labor strikes at Shell’s Prelude LNG facility will disrupt shipments from it for the next two weeks, the supermajor warned this week.

“We have issued a notice to customers that cargoes will be impacted until at least mid-July due to the industrial action,” Shell said, as quoted by Reuters.

The floating LNG production facility in northwestern Australia has an annual capacity of 3.6 million tons. The news of a halt to operations adds to an already difficult situation for gas importers after Russia reduced the flow along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by 60 percent, and an explosion took Freeport LNG out of commission for at least three months.

This latest disruption comes just three months after an outage that shut Prelude down for four months. The strike is a response to Shell’s refusal to concede to some of the demands made by the Australian Workers’ Union. read more

FINANCIAL POST

Shell says Prelude LNG shipments disrupted until at least mid-July

REUTERS: Jun 28, 2022

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE — Shell Plc said on Wednesday liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from its Prelude floating LNG facility off northwest Australia will be disrupted until at least mid-July due to work bans by unions fighting for better pay.

“We have issued a notice to customers that cargoes will be impacted until at least mid-July due to the industrial action,” a Shell spokesperson said in an emailed comment.

The loading disruption at the 3.6 million tonnes-a-year Prelude floating LNG facility comes just three months after Prelude resumed shipping LNG following a four-month shutdown due to a major power failure.

Workers on Prelude began 12 days of industrial action on June 10 over a pay dispute. They are set to vote on a new offer from Shell on July 7. read more

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Dispute stops cargoes at Shell’s huge floating LNG plant

Angela Macdonald-Smith: Senior resources writer
Updated Jun 28, 2022 – 10.36pm, first published at 9.22pm

Shell’s monster floating LNG project off the north-west coast has cancelled cargoes until at least mid-July amid an escalating industrial dispute, tightening the supply of gas in the already-stretched global market.

Trade unions represented through the Offshore Alliance say Shell has threatened union negotiators with its intention to shut down the facility amid the deteriorating situation.

Australian Workers’ Union national secretary Daniel Walton described the threat as “insane” given the national gas crisis, and said the energy major was trying to bully the nation into agreeing to its “hardline” demands.

However the energy multinational insists it is union bans that are behind the likely shutdown, restricting its ability to operate the complex facility and offload cargoes. Prelude supplies LNG to the export market, not to Australian energy users.

A Shell spokeswoman said the group has notified customers that it is cancelling cargoes until at least the middle of next month due to the impact of the industrial action.

The dispute centres around a new collective agreement under negotiation between Shell and the unions, for workers that industry sources say are paid an average of $250,000-$280,000, and in some cases more through bonuses, allowances and overtime. read more

WAtoday

Shell’s Prelude gas ship hit by safety, crewing and industrial problems

By Peter Milne: June 10, 2022 — 5.00am

Shell is running its $23 billion Prelude floating LNG plant with critical positions filled by crew who are not fully qualified, and more than 200 safety alarms out of action, ahead of industrial action due to start on Friday.

Gas exports recommenced from the world’s largest floating vessel just two months ago after it was shut down for four months following a complete power failure in December that the offshore safety regulator said could have led to a “catastrophic failure”. read more

energynewsbulletin.net: 

Prelude potentially facing another shut down 

Helen Clark: Editor: 9 June 2022

Australia’s Fair Work Commission has approved the action as unions hammer out a new enterprise bargaining agreement with Shell. The protected industrial action runs until June 21.

The 3.6 million tonne vessel sold four cargoes through May and has varied contracts including with Korea’s Kogas. Other cargoes go into Shell’s wider LNG portfolio. This comes as the global gas market tightens amid far higher demand for LNG from Europe as it tries to swiftly pivot from Russian pipe gas. read more

energynewsbulletin.net

Serious fire dangers at Prelude FLNG

Paul Hunt: Senior Journalist: Energy & Commodities: 08 June 2022

THE union representing offshore oil and gas workers at Shell Australia’s Prelude FLNG facility have outlined serious safety concerns to the safety regulator, warning employees’ lives are at stake because fire suppression systems are not working.

The Offshore Alliance – part of the Australian Workers Union and Maritime Union of Australia – lodged the complaint yesterday which revealed that over 200 smoke detectors on the facility were not relaying to the control room and workers would not be aware of an explosion or fire at the giant floating gas project. read more

ENERGY VOICE

Shell sends ‘thug’ to stop industrial strike action on Prelude FLNG, says labor union

Production at Shell’s (LON:SHEL) Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility offshore Western Australia may soon be affected by industrial strike action after the Offshore Alliance issued the supermajor with a notice of protected industrial action starting 10 June.

Production at Shell’s (LON:SHEL) Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility offshore Western Australia may soon be affected by industrial strike action after the Offshore Alliance issued the supermajor with a notice of protected industrial action starting 10 June.

In response to the formal notice served by lawyers representing the Offshore Alliance, a labor union, as well as the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), issued on 30 May, Shell has “now resorted to industrial thuggery in a desperate effort to try and stop protected industrial action on Prelude,” the Offshore Alliance claimed in a post on Facebook today.

“One of the Shell leads, who has been parachuted onto Prelude, is throwing his weight around like he’s some sort of big king dick…this self-styled hero tough guy has been doing his best to intimidate some of the younger female tech’s by demanding they tell him whether they are in the Union and whether they intend to take Protected Industrial Action,” claimed the Offshore Alliance.

“Shell’s senior management need to pull this idiot into line as the Offshore Alliance will bang both him and Shell into the Federal Court for breach of Freedom of Association provisions if he doesn’t pull his head in. Pull off your management thugs, Shell,” added the union. read more

Shell to develop Crux project in Western Australia

May 30, 2022

Shell Australia Pty Ltd (Shell Australia) and its joint venture partner, SGH Energy, have taken a final investment decision to approve the development of the Crux natural gas field, off the coast of Western Australia. Crux will provide further supplies of natural gas to the existing Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility.

“This project forms an important part of Shell’s integrated gas portfolio,” said Wael Sawan, Integrated Gas, Renewables and Energy Solutions Director at Shell. “Natural gas from Crux will play a key role in helping Asian customers move from coal to gas as a cleaner-burning fuel. The project will help us to meet the increasing demand for LNG as the energy market transitions to a lower carbon future.

“The project will also boost our customers’ security of supply, which is becoming an ever more significant consideration for global consumers.”

“Developing the Crux project reinforces our commitment to Australia, including boosting the regional economy, creating jobs and providing training opportunities,” said Shell Australia Chair Tony Nunan. “The use of Prelude’s existing infrastructure enables significantly reduced development costs, making Crux competitive and commercially attractive.”

The Crux field is in Commonwealth marine waters in the northern Browse Basin, 620 kilometres north-east of Broome. The development will consist of a platform operated remotely from Prelude,. Five wells will be drilled initially, and an export pipeline will connect the platform to Prelude, which is around 160 kilometres to the south-west of Crux. read more