Shell Awards Prelude FLNG Contract

Shell Australia has awarded Flowserve Corp. a general maintenance services contract for its Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility operating offshore Western Australia, Flowserve reported Monday.

“Flowserve values the successful projects and relationships we have developed with Shell through the years,” Flowserve President and CEO Scott Rowe said in a written statement. “We look forward to helping maximize the uptime and productivity of the Prelude facility with highly responsive maintenance and repair services.”

According to Flowserve, it will support Prelude FLNG under the five-year contract from its Quick Response Center (QRC) in Darwin, Northern Territory. The contract recipient added that it will expand the QRC, which has primarily serviced flow control valves and seals throughout its 16-year history, to include maintenance and repair services for:

• centrifugal pumps
• positive displacement pumps
• heat exchangers
• fans and blowers
• hydraulic power units
• other related equipment.

Flowserve also noted the Prelude FLNG contract justifies the creation of new positions at the Darwin QRC.

“This agreement with Shell Australia will enable us to increase our employment of local and indigenous people, including skills training that can lead to opportunities for permanent employment,” stated Sanjay Chowbey, president of Flowserve’s Aftermarket Services and Solutions division.

Shell operates Prelude FLNG, which began shipping LNG earlier this year, and owns a 67.5-percent interest in the offshore development. Other Prelude FLNG joint venture members include INPEX Corp. (17.5 percent), Korea Gas Corp. (10 percent) and Overseas Private Investment Corp. (5 percent).

Shell states on its website that Prelude FLNG can produce 3.6 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG, 1.3 mtpa of condensate and 0.4 mtpa of liquefied petroleum gas. The company has described the vessel as the “largest offshore floating facility ever built.”