AsianOil: Shell resumes LNG shipments from Australia’s Prelude FLNG

Shell said in a brief statement on April 11 that it had resumed shipping cargoes from its Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) facility offshore the north coast of Western Australia.
The facility had been offline for four months following a major power failure. A Shell spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that a cargo had been loaded, leaving the terminal on April 10, but did not disclose the destination.
Australia's National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), the offshore security regulator, authorised the resumption of shipments from Prelude last month. This came after NOPSEMA had ordered in December 2021 that the facility remain offline until Shell had demonstrated that it had made certain required safety improvements. The super-major has now met the regulator’s requirements.
“Shell notes the announcement from NOPSEMA confirming Direction 1860 has been closed following Shell’s demonstration to NOPSEMA’s satisfaction that the facility can safely recover essential power and associated essential services following a loss of power, and that the safety systems and essential support systems operate to maintain safety of personnel,” Shell stated this week.
The outage is the latest in a series of mishaps for Prelude, which is the world’s largest FLNG vessel and demonstrates the complexity involved in operating such offshore megaprojects. The facility was previously offline for most of 2020 owing to electrical problems.