This is a moment of firsts for Prelude, and an opportunity to test processes and systems before the subsea wells are opened at start-up.

It’s the first time a vessel has berthed side by side with Prelude and tested its offloading arms, in reverse order to how this will work once Prelude is operational. 

Prelude’s offloading arms have been specifically designed to ensure safe offloading while both the facility and the Gallina are moving. In this case, the offloading arms transferred the LNG from the Gallina to Prelude.

Once onboard, the LNG makes its way through process equipment and pipework and is stored within tanks in the hull of the facility. These tanks have been designed to withstand the ‘sloshing’ of the product that could happen due to the movement of Prelude. 4 of the huge LNG tanks, at 39,000 cubic metres each, are now full.

With gas onboard, Prelude’s utilities can now switch to run on gas rather than diesel.

VP Prelude David Bird is excited to reach this milestone but remains focused on the end goal.  “It’s important we take a moment to celebrate and recognise this achievement,” said David. “It’s equally important we don’t lose sight of the end goal - the safe and reliable start-up of our incredible asset, Prelude, and the delivery of gas to our customers.”

Prelude Project Director Didrik Reymert stresses the importance of safety now the facility is ‘live’. “The risk profile of the facility has changed fundamentally and this has a great impact on how we work,” he said. “Now, more than ever, we must maintain our unrelenting focus on the safety of our people and our environment. “Introducing gas onto Prelude is an important step towards start-up but there is a lot of work to do before we get there.

The next step will be to test and ready the LNG plant on board Prelude in preparation for opening the wells. This is followed by a period called start-up, ramp-up. LNG will be produced after this, when it is safe to do so

Source: shell.com.au