In a global engineering project
of extraordinary scale Shell is building a giant
floating facility that will liquefy
Natural Gas at sea. It's amazing. It's very big,
it's very impressive and it's a fantastic achievement
by everybody. With its half kilometre long hull
now afloat in South Korea, 2014 saw huge advances
for the project around the world. In Spain, brute strength
and searing heat form the mooring chains that
will hold Prelude in position. Every day we manufacture
around 50 tonnes that means
150 links more or less. 17 kilometres of chain, with
24,500 links, will be produced. In France tests are underway
on ground-breaking arms that will transfer the liquefied
Natural Gas directly onto ships. It is, effectively, the first
time we're running the Prelude LNG loading arm at
cryogenic conditions, yeah, it is exciting. Chilled to minus 162 degrees,
centigrade the Natural Gas will be
transported as a cryogenic liquid. Good result, very happy. The first of many
safety tests, succeeds. In Malaysia, sub-sea equipment that will control the gas flow
from Prelude's seven wells is being checked for leaks. We are pressuring up to
10,000 PSI which is about 300 times the
pressure of your car tyres. Because it's so big and it's
the final test yes, you still get nervous, never
mind how many times you do it. The huge pressure holds, proving
the kit is fit for use. In South Korea, the
installation of a pipe network 450 kilometres long,
is well underway. Looks like a human body,
full of arteries and veins with blood flowing in between. There are more than 450,000
piping components to connect. Across the shipyard, one of the
vast storage tanks is about to receive a pump tower, this will take its liquefied gas
up to deck for off-loading. Last time it was windy and it
was very tricky. The 50 tonne structure is safely
coaxed through the narrow opening. Okay, it's going down. In Dubai,
part of the 30 storey turret which allows Prelude
to weather vane is ready to set sail for
South Korea. Every day when I wake up
and I see components this size I'm struck with awe. In Australia,
construction finishes on the on-shore supply base. Well done mate,
Thank you very much. Everything required to support
Prelude's remote location 200 kilometres from shore,
will be shipped from here. The warehouse
is completely empty now but within a week things will
start coming in and it's going to be terrific
to see. In Texas, Prelude's mooring cable
is strength tested ....to the point of
destruction. This wire rope is the biggest
mooring wire rope that has ever been
break-load tested. So now we're over 2,500 tonnes. It passes the required strength
and now it's pushed to the limit. More wires are going, it's still in one piece yeah, here we go....Oh! Incredible, wow! What a huge bang. The sample out-performs
strength requirements. In Korea, the first of the huge
gas processing modules is being lifted
onto the hull. You go over onto the quayside and you see it then coming like a
tower block, floating through the air. Fantastic -
I've got goose bumps here! The 4,800 tonne module is
floated to its new home. At this stage we're about
100 mil off, they'll do the last adjustment so when we do touch down
that's it, we won't be coming up and this module will be staying
here for the next 25 years or more. Well done Mr. Lee,
Thank you very much 100 percent
Yeah 100 percent
Lovely. Piece by piece,
step by step, across four continents and
involving thousands of people the vision of Prelude continues to become a reality. I'm delighted,
absolutely delighted. Very good. Couldn't have asked for better,
really.
