Shell mulls revolutionary plant

Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell said Friday it was preparing a blueprint
for what could be the first floating liquefied natural gas plant—and
the world's biggest vessel—off Australia. If it goes ahead, the
move would have significant implications for the industry because it
could unlock 'stranded' gas reserves previously considered too costly
to develop because of their small size or distance from shore.
'We're in the front end engineering and design phase now,' a Shell
spokeswoman told AFP. 'Once that's complete it will then be decided
whether we go to the final investment decision.' Shell refused to
give a date when the giant facility, which would draw LNG from its
Prelude and Concerto gas assets in the Browse Basin off northwest
Western Australia, could be operational. But it said the floating
structure, which reportedly would cost 5.0 billion US dollars, would
be some 480 metres in length, 75 metres wide, and weigh about 600,000
metric tons. It would be 'significantly the largest vessel in the
world when it's constructed', Shell's executive director upstream
international Malcolm Brinded said Thursday. Although the
technology is commercially untested, the project would have the
capacity to produce about 3.5 million tonnes of LNG per year, as
well as liquefied petroleum gas over its 20-year lifespan. The
plant, in the shape of an enormous ship, would be towed to each spot
and temporarily anchored to the seabed. Reports said it would be
designed to withstand extreme weather such as a one-in-10,000-year
cyclone. Brinded said demand for LNG would probably rise as
rapidly industrialising Asian countries such as India and China
increasingly sought cleaner- burning fuels. 'Gas is an absolutely
key energy source as a bridge to a fully sustainable energy future,
and I think it will be a bridge that will last most of this century,'
he told reporters. The technology is particularly relevant for
Australia which is believed to have stranded gas reserves worth about
1.0 trillion Australian dollars (890 billion US). Western
Australia is the centre of Australia's booming LNG industry which
some analysts believe is on course to rival Qatar, the world's
biggest producer. LNG is natural gas that is chilled for shipping
as a liquid, then turned back into gas at its destination and
distributed by pipeline.