Shell is still working to restart production at its giant Prelude FLNG located offshore Australia following an incident last week.
“On 2 December 2021 at approximately 11.00PM AWST, smoke detected in an electrical utility area triggered the automatic fire detection and management systems on board the Prelude FLNG facility,” a Shell spokesperson told LNG Prime in an emailed statement.
The spokesperson said the area was made safe by the systems in place and it did not spread further.
“All workers on the facility are safe and accounted for. While work is underway to restore main power, production on Prelude has been suspended temporarily,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson did not provide any additional information.
LNG Prime understands that Shell has decided to reduce the number of staff on board the FLNG as the unit requires only a skeleton crew during a production shutdown.
Local media reports also suggested that the firm has evacuated about 150 crew members from the giant unit.
It remains unclear when Shell would restore the main power and restart the production.
Production problems continue
Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden said earlier this year that the firm was working to bring Prelude to full production following a long shutdown due to an electrical trip in February last year.
To remind, the giant floating LNG producer shipped the first cargo in almost a year in early January followed by the second shipment later the same month.
Prelude delivered its first cargo in June 2019 after several start-up delays. The FLNG has the capacity to produce 3.6 mtpa of LNG, 1.3 mtpa of condensate, and 0.4 mtpa of LPG.
Shell operates the floating facility located some 475 km from Broome in Western Australia, with a 67.5 percent stake.
Japan’s Inpex holds a 17.5 percent stake, Korea’s Kogas 10 percent, and Taiwan’s CPC holds 5 percent.
