GE has started the production of the risers for the Prelude FLNG facility

GE Oil & Gas has declared in a statement that the production of four high pressure, high temperature (HP/HT) dynamic flexible risers destined for the world’s largest floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility, Prelude, to be operated by Shell, located 250km off the coast of Western Australia has started.
FLNG is a revolution in natural gas production that promises to improve the viability of smaller, more remote or environmentally-sensitive fields that would otherwise be too costly or difficult to develop.
The two companies have since collaborated on the subsea flexibles scope to ensure that the raw materials and proposed end-product are qualified in accordance with the project’s stringent quality and technical requirements, a coordinated effort that led to Shell Australia awarding a multi-million dollar contract to GE in April 2014.
GE will complete manufacture of the flexible risers at its facility in Newcastle, UK, where it has invested more than $21m to expand its production carousel capacity, enhancing manufacturing capabilities and equipping the site with the ability to accommodate larger diameter risers, which can be produced and delivered in optimum single lengths. The new carousel bays were officially opened in April 2014. Once manufactured, the flexible risers will be packaged onto purpose built large-diameter reels and transported more than 11,000kms between Newcastle and South East Asia in readiness for subsea installation.