Floating into the future
Woodside's biggest shareholder, Royal Dutch Shell, is building the world's first floating LNG vessel to develop its Prelude field in the Browse Basin off Western Australia, and also wants to use the technology as an alternative to onshore processing of Browse gas at the James Price Point on the Kimberley coast.
Woodside recently presented its Browse joint-venture partners - including Shell - with costings for James Price Point.
Mr Coleman would not comment on the likely outcome at Browse but said floating LNG, in general, was a "technology of the future" and Woodside needed to develop its capability.
"Oil evolved from onshore plants to what today is industry-accepted practice for remote-location, small fields, FPSOs [floating production, storage and offloading vessels]. So in the oil world you already have an analog to go by. LNG is simply taking what was done in oil now and moving that into LNG."
Mr Coleman said the new ships would be six times heavier than the largest aircraft carrier at 600,000 tonnes and almost 500 metres.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Floating LNG means producing liquefied natural gas on board very large ships rather than onshore. The article notes industry leaders call it a "technology of the future" because it offers an alternative to onshore processing and could change how remote gas fields are developed—an important trend for investors watching oil and gas project strategies.
Woodside chief Peter Coleman described floating LNG as a "natural evolution" for the oil and gas industry and a "technology of the future," saying Woodside needs to develop capability in this area. He compared the LNG shift to how oil fields moved from onshore plants to FPSOs for remote locations.
The article says Royal Dutch Shell, Woodside's biggest shareholder, is building what it calls the world's first floating LNG vessel to develop the Prelude field in the Browse Basin, and is considering the technology as an alternative to onshore processing at James Price Point.
According to the article, Shell's floating LNG vessel is intended for the Prelude field in the Browse Basin off Western Australia. Shell is also looking at floating LNG as an alternative to onshore processing of Browse gas at James Price Point on the Kimberley coast, and Woodside has presented costings for the James Price Point option to its Browse joint-venture partners.
The article quotes Mr Coleman saying the new floating LNG ships would be enormous—about 600,000 tonnes (six times heavier than the largest aircraft carrier) and almost 500 metres in length.
The article explains that oil production evolved from onshore plants to floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) for remote or small fields. Floating LNG is presented as a similar step—applying that onshore-to-floating evolution to liquefied natural gas production.
Investors should watch floating LNG because it can change project economics and development choices for large gas resources. The article highlights that Woodside and Shell are actively evaluating or building floating LNG capability, and joint-venture decisions (such as the Browse/James Price Point debate) could affect company strategies and capital plans.
Based on the article, investors should monitor the Browse joint-venture decisions and costings presented by Woodside (including the James Price Point option), progress on Shell's Prelude floating LNG vessel, and whether Woodside publicly develops its floating LNG capability.
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