LNG giant Shell is not expecting to restart production at its Prelude FLNG facility offshore Western Australia before July.
Shell hasn’t exported any cargoes from the FLNG for almost five months following an electrical trip on February 2.
“Start-up timing will depend on Covid-19 constraints and compliance with government directions”, a Shell spokesperson said in a emailed statement on Monday.
This will result in a reduction in the number of people on board the FLNG facility.
The spokesperson said that due to these constraints and the impact on the start-up processes, “production is not expected before the third quarter”.
Prelude shipped its first cargo last year 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 Prelude FLNG, located 475 km from Broome in Western Australia, with a 67.5 per cent stake.
Japan’s Inpex holds a 17.5 per cent stake, Korea’s Kogas 10 per cent, while Taiwan’s CPC holds 5 per cent.
New Prelude FLNG chief
In a related development, Shell’s Australian unit has appointed a new executive to lead the world’s largest FLNG project.
Stacey Orlandi is taking over as VP Prelude from Rob Jager who is leaving the FLNG project and Shell.
Rob will be retiring from Shell after 42 years with the LNG giant to focus on “other non-executive roles”.
“We thank Rob Jager for his service in the role, during which time he oversaw significant progress from the facility start-up phase, including achieving first cargo in June 2019”, the spokesperson said.
Orlandi, based in the Netherlands, is currently Shell’s vice president asset management excellence for integrated gas and new energies.
“Stacey will be immediately engaged in a transition period over the coming weeks”, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that “her physical relocation will depend on Covid-19 travel restrictions”.
(This story has been amended on June 23 to include a correction by a Shell spokesperson saying that the company does not expect production to start before the third quarter.
The spokesperson previously stated that the company is expecting to restart the FLNG before the third quarter.)