Page 12 - AsianOil Week 01 2021

AsianOil OCEANIA AsianOil

Prelude FLNG shutdown extended

by regulator’s order

PROJECTS & AUSTRALIA’S National Offshore Petroleum cause of the power failure at Prelude, but NOP-
COMPANIES Safety and Environmental Management Author- SEMA has said this does not go far enough.
ity (NOPSEMA) has ordered Royal Dutch Shell Consequently, the regulator has directed Shell
not to return its Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) to broaden the scope of its investigation to
facility to service until the company can prove address the gaps it has identified. It also wants
that it can keep the vessel properly powered and the super-major to develop a detailed plan to
that safety systems are operational. implement necessary corrective actions, which
Prelude is the largest The order comes in response to Shell’s move is to be presented to NOPSEMA.
FLNG project in the to take Prelude offline earlier in December after Under the NOPSEMA order, Shell will need
world. the facility, located offshore Western Australia, to demonstrate that Prelude can safely recover
lost power following a fire. Several attempts to essential power and associated services follow-
restore power aboard Prelude failed, leading ing a loss of power and that safety and essential
NOPSEMA to send inspectors to the facility support systems are operational. There is specu-
days after the outage amid growing concerns lation that the order could keep Prelude offline
over safety. The inspectors found that Shell “did until at least March, if not longer.
not have sufficient understanding of the risks This comes as a further blow to the vessel,
of the power systems on the facility, including which is the largest FLNG project in the world at
failure mechanisms, interdependencies and 488 metres long and 74 metres wide. The facility,
recovery”. which has the capacity to produce 5.3mn tonnes
The regulator raised concerns over critical per year of liquids, including 3.6mn tpy of LNG,
safety systems, as well as the ability to evacuate has struggled with a series of technical problems
staff, being directly affected by the power loss. and was offline for most of 2020 owing to a sepa-
Shell has launched an investigation into the rate electrical issue.™

NEWS IN BRIEF

ASIA-PACIFIC “The introduction of more renewable energy hydrogen will emerge as an alternative to gas
is changing the very nature of electric grid generation by 2030.”
Black & Veatch report: management and this means Asian electricity BLACK & VEATCH, January 04, 2022
providers must plan and invest seriously
renewable energy across the entire system of generation, SOUTH ASIA
transmission and distribution assets.”
integration key to Asia’s generation into transmission and distribution BPCL inks MoA with CSIR
The need to focus investments beyond
decarbonisation, energy is underlined throughout the report. For IICT to produce compressed
example, 25% of industry respondents are not
transition confident in the performance and resilience of
their transmission and distribution systems.
The integration of renewable energy into In addition, two of the top three threats to Bio Gas (CBG)
grid systems – more than simply deploying providing reliable service to customers are Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL),
renewable energy to replace the region’s large cited as underinvestment in transmission and a ‘Maharatna’ and a Fortune Global 500
dependence on coal – is the biggest challenge insufficient energy storage. Company has collaborated with CSIR-Indian
facing Asia’s electric industry, according to “The energy transition is underway across Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-
findings from this year’s Black & Veatch Asia the region with more than 80% of respondents IICT), to develop innovative bio-reactor
Electric Report. saying they are channelling capital to clean design to maximise bio-methane production
“The report reveals that pressures to energy investments,” said Harry Harji, for compressed bio-gas (CBG) made from
lower grid emissions are mounting from Associate Vice President for Black & Veatch’s agricultural waste residues, such as wheat
investors, large customers and governments as management consulting business in Asia. straw, rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, etc.
infrastructure needs continue to transform,” “Solar, in particular, looks set to receive Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Dr. V Ravi
said Narsingh Chaudhary, Executive Vice increased investments over the next five Kumar, CGM (R&D), Bharat Petroleum
President & Managing Director, Asia Pacific. years while almost half of respondents think Corporation Ltd. said, “Large scale production

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 01 07•January•2022