LNG giant Shell has again suspended production on its 3.6 mtpa Prelude floating LNG producer offshore Western Australia due to a fire.
“On December 21 at 16:25 AWST, there was a small fire detected on board Prelude in a turbine enclosure. The fire was quickly contained using a hand-held extinguisher and the area made safe,” a Shell spokesperson told LNG Prime on Thursday.
According to the spokesperson, there were no injuries and all workers on the facility are safe and accounted for.
Shell has temporarily suspended production and an investigation into the cause of the incident is underway.
“We will work methodically through the stages in the process to recommence production with safety and stability foremost in mind,” the spokesperson said adding that Shell has also informed the regulator regarding the incident.
Shell did not say when the firm expects to resume production again.
Following completion of planned maintenance, the FLNG loaded a cargo earlier on Wednesday.
In September, Shell resumed cargo loading operations at Prelude after it reached an agreement with unions representing Prelude FLNG workers to end a long strike and restart operations on the giant floating producer.
The workers started protected industrial action on June 14, while Shell stopped production on July 11 on the giant unit due to additional working bans.
Prior to that, the floating LNG producer came back online again in April as Shell closed the unit after an incident in December.
Prelude shipped its first cargo in June 2019 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 floating facility with a 67.5 percent stake. Japan’s Inpex holds a 17.5 percent stake, South Korea’s Kogas 10 percent, and Taiwan’s CPC holds 5 percent.