Posts under ‘Shell Employee Safety’

RIGZONE

Prelude FLNG Loads Out First Cargo Since Fire

by Bojan Lepic| Rigzone Staff| Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Even though Shell has not confirmed any restart on its massive Prelude FLNG, Reuters reported that the Methane Becki Anne LNG tanker has begun loading.

The Methane Becki Anne was the first LNG tanker to berth at Shell’s Prelude floating LNG site off Western Australia since it was shut down after a fire.

According to Reuters, the LNG carrier vessel berthed at the Prelude plant on January 17, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed. Refinitiv’s data also showed that LNG has already begun loading. read more

abc.net.au

Shell, unions reach agreement in Prelude gas facility industrial dispute

ABC Kimberley / By Taylor Thompson-Fuller

Key points:

• The industrial action began in early June

• It resulted in Shell stopping shipments and suspending activity aboard

• Shell and unions say they are happy to have finally reached an agreement

Industrial action aboard Shell’s floating LNG facility Prelude is set to come to an end after unions and the company reached an in-principle enterprise agreement for workers.

The industrial action, which began in early June, led to Shell putting a halt to shipments leaving the facility 400 kilometres off the Kimberley coast and a shutdown in production amid soaring gas prices. read more

THE TIMES

Shell strike extension to compound energy crisis

Emily Gosden: Energy Editor

Shell Postpones Prelude LNG Turnaround Until Next Year

Shell plc SHEL recently stated that it is deferring the planned maintenance work at the Prelude floating liquefied natural gas facility, which was due to begin in September. The postponement came following the continued industrial action at the site situated off northwest Australia.

A Shell spokesperson mentioned in emailed comments, “As a result of the ongoing Protected Industrial Action and inability to complete preparation work, we are not able to proceed with the planned turnaround at this time.” read more

The Biggest of the Biggest: Prelude FLNG, the Largest Floating Edifice of All Time

A project of oil and gas giant Shell, the Prelude is simultaneously a stellar engineering achievement and a financial black hole.

13 Aug 2022, 16:11 UTC: by Razvan Calin

Over 530 yards long, 80 yards wide, more than 300 feet tall, and 660,000 tones heavy. The largest floating structure the world has ever put out to see is the Prelude offshore natural gas facility. Completed in under five years, the colossal ship-looking titan is made to work a quarter of a century in rough South Pacific waters. read more

COMMENT SENT TO JOHN DONOVAN ABOUT THE  ILL-FATED SHELL PRELUDE PROJECT BY BILL CAMPBELL, RETIRED HSE GROUP AUDITOR, SHELL INTERNATIONAL

Seems such a long time ago since we watched the Hollywood quality videos of a happy bunch of comrades in arms assembled in a circle on the helideck. Halcyon days indeed.

The future then was so  hopefull, and filled with promise.

Almost hidden in the article re the industrial dispute was the report of a loss of LNG during transfer operations, I have stressed and explained many times why this simply cannot be allowed to happen and as you publish repeatedly, in your Prelude banner against my name, I predicted many moons ago that loss of hydrocarbons from Prelude was almost inevitable. read more

The Sydney Morning Herald

Shell Prelude’s two-month $500m strike delays major maintenance

By Peter Milne: August 9, 2022

Shell has delayed major maintenance on its troubled Prelude floating gas facility after negotiations over the weekend failed to end two months of industrial action.

The delay is another setback for Shell, which spent about $US17 billion ($24 billion) to build the world’s largest vessel that has suffered a multitude of production outages and serious safety issues since it arrived in West Australian waters five years ago. read more

Shell to enforce lockout on Prelude as industrial dispute escalates

Sean Smith: The West Australian: Wed, 20 July 2022 9:57AM

The dispute over a new pay deal on Shell’s Prelude floating LNG plant off north-west WA has escalated again, with the energy giant flagging it will lock out workers from Monday.

The decision means those workers who are not on Prelude but support the protected industrial action by the Offshore Alliance will not be paid.

Those still on Prelude will only be paid for the time they work outside industrial stoppages. read more

Shell (SHEL) to Shut Prelude FLNG Over Industrial Dispute

Shell plc SHEL announced that it would not be able to supply liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) cargoes from its Prelude facility to its customers as the company would completely shut down its Prelude FLNG vessel, offshore Western Australia, due to unions’ escalating industrial action, which has now been extended to Jul 21.

The Offshore Alliance, which is made up of 150 union members earning more than $200,000 a year, told Shell that the workers intended to ban mooring tankers, alongside the vessel, as part of their protected action this week. The ban will disallow SHEL from unloading LNG and LPG from its storage tanks, which are anticipated to reach full capacity going forward. read more

REUTERS

Shell ships LNG from Australia’s Prelude despite staff stoppages

MELBOURNE, July 8 (Reuters) – Shell SHEL.L said on Friday it had loaded and shipped a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this week at its Prelude floating LNG facility after workers scaled down industrial action at the site off northwestern Australia.

The oil and gas giant slowed output at the 3.6-million tonne per year facility last week during a series of work stoppages by unions fighting for better pay and had warned that shipments would be disrupted for at least two weeks. read more

OILPRICE.COM

Shell Warns Of Prelude LNG Disruptions

By Irina Slav – Jun 29, 2022, 9:30 AM CDT

Prolonged labor strikes at Shell’s Prelude LNG facility will disrupt shipments from it for the next two weeks, the supermajor warned this week.

“We have issued a notice to customers that cargoes will be impacted until at least mid-July due to the industrial action,” Shell said, as quoted by Reuters.

The floating LNG production facility in northwestern Australia has an annual capacity of 3.6 million tons. The news of a halt to operations adds to an already difficult situation for gas importers after Russia reduced the flow along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by 60 percent, and an explosion took Freeport LNG out of commission for at least three months.

This latest disruption comes just three months after an outage that shut Prelude down for four months. The strike is a response to Shell’s refusal to concede to some of the demands made by the Australian Workers’ Union. read more

FINANCIAL POST

Shell says Prelude LNG shipments disrupted until at least mid-July

REUTERS: Jun 28, 2022

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE — Shell Plc said on Wednesday liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from its Prelude floating LNG facility off northwest Australia will be disrupted until at least mid-July due to work bans by unions fighting for better pay.

“We have issued a notice to customers that cargoes will be impacted until at least mid-July due to the industrial action,” a Shell spokesperson said in an emailed comment.

The loading disruption at the 3.6 million tonnes-a-year Prelude floating LNG facility comes just three months after Prelude resumed shipping LNG following a four-month shutdown due to a major power failure.

Workers on Prelude began 12 days of industrial action on June 10 over a pay dispute. They are set to vote on a new offer from Shell on July 7. read more

WAtoday

Shell’s Prelude gas ship hit by safety, crewing and industrial problems

By Peter Milne: June 10, 2022 — 5.00am

Shell is running its $23 billion Prelude floating LNG plant with critical positions filled by crew who are not fully qualified, and more than 200 safety alarms out of action, ahead of industrial action due to start on Friday.

Gas exports recommenced from the world’s largest floating vessel just two months ago after it was shut down for four months following a complete power failure in December that the offshore safety regulator said could have led to a “catastrophic failure”. read more

energynewsbulletin.net

Serious fire dangers at Prelude FLNG

THE union representing offshore oil and gas workers at Shell Australia’s Prelude FLNG facility have outlined serious safety concerns to the safety regulator, warning employees’ lives are at stake because fire suppression systems are not working.

The Offshore Alliance – part of the Australian Workers Union and Maritime Union of Australia – lodged the complaint yesterday which revealed that over 200 smoke detectors on the facility were not relaying to the control room and workers would not be aware of an explosion or fire at the giant floating gas project. read more

CNN

Shell escaped liability for oil spills in Nigeria for years. Then four farmers took them to court — and won

By Nimi Princewill and Krystina Shveda, CNN: Updated 1540 GMT (2340 HKT) May 25, 2022

Nigeria (CNN)When Nigerian environmental lawyer Chima Williams launched a lawsuit against oil giant Shell plc, he did not envisage a 13-year battle that would lead to a landmark ruling and land him a prestigious environmental award.

Williams, who is the executive director of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, successfully convinced the Court of Appeal in the Hague that Shell plc was responsible for the activities of its subsidiary in Nigeria — Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) — and for oil spills that ravaged local farmlands.

The suit against Shell Nigeria was brought by four farmers from the Goi and Oruma communities in the country’s oil-rich but impoverished Niger Delta region, who said their farms were left in ruins after major spills from underground pipelines.

The decision to allow Shell plc, formerly known as Royal Dutch Shell plc, to be sued in this jurisdiction set a precedent as it was the first time the Dutch parent company was sued in its home country for the actions of its foreign subsidiary, SPDC.

Shell Nigeria (SPDC) was eventually held liable for the oil spills and ordered to pay damages to the farmers in a January 29, 2021, ruling by the Court of Appeal of the Hague. SPDC was also ordered to carry out an intensive clean-up of the damage to the communities.

Williams was on Wednesday awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work in holding the company accountable for the environmental damage. read more

CNBC

Safety consultant goes viral for leaving Shell after a decade, says ‘core business’ is dangerous

Catherine Clifford: @IN/CATCLIFFORD/@CATCLIFFORD: PUBLISHED TUE, MAY 24 20224:30 PM EDT

• At 8:27 a.m. on Monday morning Caroline Dennett emailed 1,400 executives at the oil and gas conglomerate, Shell, to announce her resignation after 11 years doing safety consulting for the company through her firm, .
• Shell’s internal safety program is dubbed “Goal Zero” and its aim is to have “no harm and no leaks,” Dennett said. “The Goal Zero is honorable, but they don’t equate that to the harms that are being done on a massive scale,” she told CNBC.

At 8:27 a.m. on Monday morning, May 23, Caroline Dennett emailed 1,400 executives at the oil and gas conglomerate, Shell, to announce her resignation after 11 years working as a safety consultant.

Dennett, who is based near London, asked executives and management at Shell “to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they really believe their vision for more oil and gas extraction secures a safe future for humanity.” read more