XR activists protest Prelude “death machine”

The $12 billion vessel started up production in July last year, only to be shut in in February as it was plagued with technical problems and has been in lighthouse mode ever since, with frequent clashes between unions, Shell management and contractors like Sodexo about conditions on the vessel. Last week the company posted an impairment post-tax charge of A$924 million…

A GROUP of Extinction Rebellion protestors descended on Shell’s Perth headquarters over the weekend, defacing the entrance and writing chalk on the pavement in protest of Shell’s Prelude FLNG vessel, describing it as a “death machine”.

Police were called to the scene by Shell security, however no arrests or move on notices were made and by Monday morning all evidence of the protest had been removed. read more

Shell takes giant writedown on Prelude: Massive pre-tax writedown on troubled $US12bn Prelude floating LNG plant raises concern over the long-term prospects. 

SOURCE ARTICLE (PAYWALL)

Prelude will not resume full production this year, says Shell

Article by Adam Duckett: 21st October 2020

SHELL has said its huge floating LNG production plant – the Prelude FLNG facility – is not expected to resume full production this year, following a troubled start for the pioneering facility.

Production aboard Prelude – which at 488 m long is the largest ship ever built – was halted in February after an electrical trip and it has not resumed. This fault followed, though was not linked to, an order from Australia’s National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) for Shell to revise its safety management system. read more

Is Shell’s $17 Billion Bet On Floating LNG A Flop?

What new ship construction project has cost more than a US Navy Supercarrier and is equally troubled with delays and problems? Shell’s Prelude FLNG.

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Shell’s Australian Prelude LNG will not resume shipping LNG this year

By Sonali Paul: OCTOBER 15, 2020

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L said on Thursday its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project off Australia, off line since early February, is working on restarting operations but would not resume full production this year.

The troubled Prelude FLNG platform was shut down following an electrical trip and Shell has faced a number of issues over the past few months in trying to restart full production and now does not expect to ship any LNG before next year. read more

Why Gazprom’s $7.6 Billion Nord Stream 2 Fine Is Just the Start

Stephanie Bodoni and Maciej Martewicz

Oct 9. 2020

(Bloomberg) — Poland’s antitrust watchdog slapped a $7.6 billion fine on Gazprom PJSC over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, opening a new front in the bitter political battle over the natural gas project. Wednesday’s surprise move raises a whole set of legal questions about the plan, which is teetering on the brink. What was the fine for? The antitrust authority said Gazprom and its partners, which which is teetering on the brink. read more

Prelude FLNG maintenance workers to go on strike

Paul Hunt: Senior Journalist: Oil & Gas, Policy. 07 October 2020

CONSTRUCTION and maintenance workers at Shell Australia’s Prelude floating LNG vessel will lay down their tools on Friday in a day of action aimed at pressuring contractor Monadelphous into a new enterprise bargaining agreement.

The Australian Workers Union and Maritime Union of Australia filed for protected action to legally strike across the massive LNG project a fortnight ago.

Protected action gives the workers legal immunity to conduct a strike without facing consequences imposed by the employer. Unions claim Monadelphous is paying Prelude maintenance workers below industry standard pay and conditions.

The unions are seeking a pay rise and better job security, citing a casualisation of the offshore workforce as a major issue. read more

Shell’s Prelude FLNG becomes a big headache!

By Bill Campbell

According to a recent article in Forbes “the biggest vessel in the world costing todate between 12 and 17 billion US may have also turned into Shell’s biggest blooper.”

It’s all been Technically very challenging as Shell has attempted to squeeze a complex LNG plant into a relatively small space Forbes say. (this website has covered this as a fundamental concern a number of times) – (1)

Goodman Sachs are also of the opinion that when eventually fully operational Prelude, the worlds most expensive LNG project, will only break even in current market conditions at around 20 dollars per a thousand cubic feet. read more

Shell focused on turning around troubled Australian operations

By Sonali Paul: September 15, 2020

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Undaunted by hefty writedowns on its Australian gas assets, Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L sees its liquefied natural gas business and “new energy” acquisitions Down Under as core to its long term plans, the Australian unit’s chairman said on Tuesday.

As Europe’s biggest oil company aims for net zero emissions from its operations by 2050 and plans a major restructuring, Shell still sees gas as a crucial part of the puzzle, with around a quarter of its gas assets in Australia. read more

Shell Resumes Work at Prelude Floating LNG Facility

Zacks Equity Research: September 8, 2020

Royal Dutch Shell plc RDS.A recently confirmed that it resumed activities at Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility offshore Western Australia. The facility remained offline since February due to engineering glitches. This suspension followed an order from Australia’s upstream regulator to perform additional work following three safety incidents that took place at the facility between September and January.

The closure of the Prelude plant depressed Australia’s LNG export volumes, which further took a hit from an extended shutdown of Train 2 at the Chevron Corporation CVX-regulated Gorgon LNG site due to technical snags stemming from fractured heat exchangers. read more

Australia’s $200 Billion LNG Boom Waylaid by Covid and Cracks

James Thornhill Sep 05 2020, 3:30 AM Sep 07 2020, 9:24 AM

EXTRACTS

(Bloomberg) — Cooks on strike and cracked equipment are among the latest maladies to undermine Australia’s $200 billion push to become the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas exporter.

More than a year after the completion of a decade-long LNG construction boom, two of the seven marquee projects haven’t been able to work right, the nation’s east coast urban centers face an impending gas shortage blamed partly on exports, and the government is receiving relatively meager tax revenues from fuel sales. read more

Shell Australia attempts to bring Prelude FLNG back online

SUPERMAJOR Shell has begun the process of re-starting production from its fields connected to the Prelude Floating LNG vessel offshore Western Australia, however is facing difficulties eight months after the facility was shut down over engineering problems.

Paul Hunt: Senior Journalist: Oil & Gas, Policy. 07 Sept 2020

Shell Australia confirmed to Energy News that it had begun the process to produce gas from its Browse Basin fields 475 kilometres offshore Broome on Friday afternoon. 

“The process for hydrocarbon restart of Shell’s FLNG facility has commenced,” a Shell Australia spokesperson told Energy News on Friday.

“Once we have safely started up, we will be in a stronger position to talk about timing of production and cargo.”

However, according to one source on board the vessel the restart had some issues with “multiple trips” of the plant and two swivels inside the turret that moors the giant LNG facility in place. read more

Shell begins restart activity at Prelude FLNG

Published 04 Sept 2020

Shell has begun restart operations at its 3.6mn t/yr Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) facility offshore Western Australia (WA), which has been off line since February. But it has yet to define the timeline for when production will resume.

“The process for hydrocarbon restart of Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility has commenced,” a Shell spokeswoman said. “Once we have safely started up, we will be in a stronger position to talk about timing of production and cargo.” read more

Coronavirus Further Complicates Shell’s Giant Floating Gas Project

The $15 billion Prelude vessel highlights how Covid-19 is hindering operations and challenging the economics of energy megaprojects

By Sarah McFarlane: Aug. 22, 2020 5:30 am ET

Royal Dutch Shell PLC spent billions of dollars developing one of the world’s most challenging energy projects, a floating gas terminal five football fields long. The coronavirus pandemic is posing a new problem: How to get workers to safely start it back up.

After years of delays, cost overruns, technical problems and safety concerns, Shell began exporting natural gas from the enormous vessel, known as Prelude, last year off the coast of Australia. But production was halted in February because of an electrical fault. Efforts to restart are now being slowed by social-distancing requirements, the company said. read more

World’s largest floating LNG factory remains in shutdown — at just three years old

More than five times larger than the world’s biggest aircraft carrier, Prelude is the largest floating object ever built. (Supplied: Shell)

ABC Kimberley / By Ben Collins

Shell’s massive floating LNG factory off the Kimberley coast has been in shutdown since February and industry analysts are divided on whether the $12-17 billion facility has a future.

Prelude FLNG is the largest floating object ever built and billed as the solution to getting gas out of Australia’s most remote undersea gas fields. read more

Paul Hunt: Senior Journalist: Oil & Gas, Policy. 07 August 2020

SHELL is urging its staff to move to a new fly-in, fly-out, roster, a move that has been described by unions as “unsafe.”

Currently FIFO staff work three weeks on, four weeks off, then three weeks on and five weeks off but under the new proposed agreement, employees would simply do a four week on, four week off roster.

In a power-point presentation leaked to Energy News this week, Shell Australia said a new roster was needed due to interstate travel restrictions, and the combined impact of a 14-day quarantine requirement for FIFO staff.

“This is placing significant pressure and strain on Prelude FLNG production team resourcing, as well as work-life balance for all personnel,” Shell said in its proposal to its employees. read more