Shell informed it has chosen Emerson to provide automation maintenance and reliability services for Shell’s Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility.
The size of six aircraft carriers, Prelude is the world’s largest floating production facility. It will process natural gas collected from subsea wells 475 kilometers (almost 300 miles) offshore from Broome, Western Australia.
Emerson served as main automation contractor on the Prelude FLNG project, responsible for process control and monitoring technologies that will help operate the facility, the company said in its statement.
Under the new multi-year support contract, Emerson will provide ongoing reliability and maintenance services for an even broader range of equipment.
Emerson and its local business partner, Western Process Controls, will provide equipment monitoring, diagnostic services, spares support, and maintenance for the facility’s control and safety systems, as well as thousands of instruments and valves, the company’s statement reads.
Emerson will deploy staff on the Prelude FLNG with other members remotely monitoring the facility’s automation from Shell’s operation center in Perth.
Prelude is under construction in Geoje, South Korea, before moving to Australia to begin operations. The facility is expected to remain on station at least 25 years, and is expected to produce 3.6 mtpa of LNG, 1.3 mtpa of condensate and 0.4 mtpa of LPG for export.