Let’s talk about Shell’s Prelude FLNG, a.k.a. the biggest corporate midlife-crisis purchase ever parked on the ocean. Shell didn’t just build a platform; they launched a 488-meter-long, 74-meter-wide, 600,000-tonne floating factory that maritime media straight-faced called “the largest offshore structure ever built”—and, yes, “it displaces six times as much water as the largest aircraft carrier.”
Anchored some 475 km (295 miles) off Australia, Prelude was moored with 16 giant chains to a 93-meter turret—“secured to the seabed by mooring lines”—so the behemoth could spin with cyclones and still keep pumping. Very metal. Very expensive. And very on-brand for a company that thinks the solution to climate and cost risk is… more steel.
Posted by John Donovan: 9 July 2024
Repeated Safety Violations: Because One Breach Just Isn’t Enough
Posted by JOHN DONOVAN August 1, 2023
This extraordinary project was meant to revolutionize the industry and solidify Shell’s position as a visionary leader. Little did the world know that it was about to witness the pinnacle of human achievement in the realm of catastrophic failures…The Prelude fiasco perfectly encapsulates Shell’s unparalleled ability to disappoint. It is a masterclass in how not to execute a project…
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The Sydney Morning Herald
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EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
