Floating LNG Safety

Session Chair:

• Prof. David White, The University of Western Australia 

​Session Co-Chair:

• Geeta Thakorlal, WorleyParsons

Session Description:

Australia through major operators like Shell and Woodside are world leaders in implementing Floating LNG at scale which involves ‘marinisation’ of LNG technology that if demonstrated to be safe and reliable is likely to be ‘disruptive’ by fundamentally changing the industry and providing access to stranded gas fields and making LNG more cost competitive. There is great potential for Australia to be a centre of excellence in FLNG safety, operations, maintenance and research.
To ensure success involves conservative decisions to address safety challenges and de-risking as much as possible.

• Woodside will provide an operator’s perspective on FLNG implementation including the proposed use of multiple FLNG vessels based on the Shell Prelude design

• Wood Kenny will discuss some key areas where FLNG is unique that have safety implications based on its experience with a number of operators

• DNV-GL has published guidance on many FLNG safety issues and continues to work with operators to address challenges and improve safety ahead of FLNG operations.

​Schedule:

Demonstrating FLNG Operational Safety

Eloise Browne-Cooper, Woodside Energy Ltd.

Woodside is Australia’s largest independent oil and gas company with an extensive portfolio of facilities including floating production and onshore LNG processing facilities. Woodside currently operates four FPSOs and six LNG trains.
The application of FLNG technology is a natural evolution in the oil and gas industry, similar to the development of floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities for offshore oil fields in the 1980s. Woodside’s FLNG capability is based on significant offshore facilities and land based LNG development and operations expertise.
This presentation will demonstrate how Woodside will safely operate FLNG facilities through the application of the following:

• Woodside’s floating facility and LNG processing experience.
• Woodside’s safety management system.
• Woodside’s risk management process. 

​Does FLNG Raise New Safety Issues?

James Holbeach Ph.D, MSi Kenny Australia

Floating Liquified Natural Gas provides fantastic solutions to monetizing otherwise stranded gas reserves. Putting aside the technological risk and challenges associated with LNG process trains on a vessel, naval architecture and manning, the simplicity of FLNG production is alluring. It seems most of the risk rests on the topsides, with the vessel itself; the subsea architecture, process and production systems are relatively straightforward and not seen as particularly “novel”. However, there are fundamental differences in the operations of an upstream FLNG system vs a traditional onshore solution. The lack of a long trunk line to buffer the system fundamentally impacts the system and requires a new approach to control schemes, subsea equipment and topsides processes. Focusing on these differences across the subsea and topsides infrastructure, this presentation asks the question … Do these differences impact process safety?

Key Safety Challenges for FLNG

Darren McFarlane, DNV-GL

Liquefaction of natural gas is moving offshore as an economic means of developing natural gas fields. This trend is currently in the start phase with a number of projects currently under construction and many more at concept and engineering phases. There is currently little engineering experience associated with such applications and standards and regulation specific to this new technology may lag behind the industry developments. Different jurisdictions may also have varying approaches when it comes to means of ensuring safety on their own continental shelf.

This presentation will address some of the safety challenges that these units see beyond a normal FPSO. It will also bring together the experience gained by DNV GL from a number of projects and present some generic lessons related to the issues of safety which may be of use in future FLNG designs.