
Mooring Prelude
Oct. 02, 2017
After a journey of nearly 6000 kms, Prelude FLNG has arrived in Australia where it will produce liquefied natural gas for the next 25 years. But first the project team must moor the largest floating facility ever built. Watch the latest Prelude video here.
Mooring Prelude
Title: mooring prelude
Duration: 5:03 minutes
Description:
A short video showcasing the mooring of leg number eight on Shell’s Prelude, the largest floating facility ever built, to make it storm safe.
mooring prelude 010917_050917_ Transcript
[Background music plays]
Rhythmic instrumental music featuring synthesised musical effects
[Video footage]
Wide-angled view of a rigging crew doing a series of exercises to get their muscles warmed up.
[Voiceover]
200 kilometres off the coast of north-western Australia, a rigging crew is about to start the day.
[Video footage]
Shot panning left to right of a rigging crew standing in a circle formation. Close-up of the crew leader addressing the crew. Close-up of several of the crew members. Back to close-up of the crew leader.
[Crew Leader]
We are up to mooring leg number eight. Don’t become complacent. We’re halfway through it. We’ll get the next eight done safely.
[Voiceover]
But this is no ordinary day at the office because they are about to moor the largest floating facility ever built.
[Video footage]
Shot taken over the ocean, panning upwards, bringing the Prelude into view at dawn. Aerial shot of the Prelude and three tugs, text appearing at the bottom.
[Text displays]
Mooring Prelude
[Video footage]
Close-up of the Prelude hull, panning upwards. Wide-angled view of Damian Wake walking on the Prelude. Close-up of Damian talking whilst he continues walking. Reverse-angled shot of Damian walking. Wide-angled view of Damian walking and talking, looking straight into the camera.
[Damian Wake]
Like, it is absolutely fantastic. I mean, I’ve had, what, four or five years I’ve been thinking about the mooring system. To now actually be here pulling these things in, fantastic. I am absolutely stoked, honestly.
[Voiceover]
At 660,000 tonnes when fully loaded, Prelude weighs six times more than the largest aircraft carriers in the world, and it will operate in an area known for extreme weather conditions.
[Video footage]
Aerial shot of the Prelude during daytime. Zoom in slowly. Shot of fast-moving, dark clouds.
Interview with Damian Wake
[Text displays]
Damian Wake
Offshore Installation Lead
[Title]
Offshore Installation Lead
Damian Wake
The need for this mooring system to work is critical. We could hit the cyclones and this mooring system will hold us in place.
[Video footage]
Close-up of Damian speaking to off-screen interviewer against an out-of-focus background on the Prelude.
[Voiceover]
To do that, the project team has created one of the strongest mooring systems ever built. Deep inside Prelude is a turret that allows the facility to rotate or weathervane. Beneath Prelude, one of the largest chains in the world. Nearly 25,000 links attached to mooring piles drilled deep into the ocean floor. Now the team is preparing to connect chain number eight, making Prelude officially storm safe.
[Video footage]
Shot panning left to right taken at sea of a tug sailing away from the Prelude. To the right of the Prelude is another tug.
[Animation]
Animation of the Prelude set against a backdrop of blue sky with white clouds. Underneath the water surface, a series of chains. In the top left-hand corner, a logo and text reading TechnipFMC.
[Video footage]
Sped-up sequence showing the turret being brought over to the Prelude and placed onto it using a series of cranes. Sped-up sequence via an overhead shot of the turret being lowered into place while various engineers look on. Wide-angled view of some large machinery making chain links. Close-up of a chain link being welded into shape. Wide-angled view of a production facility with a large pile of chain links in the foreground. Side-angled shot of a mooring pile suspended to a crane-like structure, ready to be lowered into the ocean. Overhead shot panning down slowly of a mooring pile.
[Animation]
Animation of the Deep Orient lowering a section of chain into the ocean. In the bottom right-hand corner, text reading Technip. Animation below the sea surface showing the chain being lowered. Animation of a chain being hauled as the yellow socket locks it into place.
[Damian Wake]
And what’s absolutely incredible about this, they’ll be pulling in [CDTS1] one or two links that they’ve already predetermined during the pre-lay, which is quite an incredible feat of engineering and installation.
[Video footage]
Close-up of Damian talking to off-screen interviewer against an out-of-focus background on the Prelude.
[Voiceover]
The operation to moor Prelude begins with the rigging team making the steep descent into the bowels of the turret. Outside, three tugs are holding Prelude in position. The crew on the Deep Orient has retrieved the mooring line. On Prelude, a giant winch is standing by to haul in the chain, and the engineers are ready to monitor each and every move. Everything is in place.
[Video footage]
Wide-angled shot panning left to right of three tugs and the Prelude at dawn. Wide-angled shot taken inside the turret showing an engineer climbing down a ladder. Close-up of an engineer climbing down a ladder into the turret. Close-up of three chains, panning left, bringing several engineers who are talking into focus. Wide-angled view of the three tugs holding the Prelude in position. Shot panning left to right of the Deep Orient. Close-up of the giant winch on the Deep Orient. Shot of two operators sitting in a cabin on the Deep Orient monitoring the winch. Close-up panning upwards of two engineers in a room with lots of papers and radios in front of them. Aerial shot of the Prelude showing its two helidecks.
[Damian Wake]
All positioned, ready to go, so it’s now up to the team on-board to finish the job.
[Video footage]
Close-up of Damian speaking to off-screen interviewer. Close-up of the crew leader and a member of the rigging crew. Reverse-angled shot of two crew members inside the turret. Close-up of the crew leader talking into his radio. Shot of two operators sitting in a cabin on the Deep Orient monitoring the winch, one the men speaks into a radio.
[Crew leader]
Yellow winch pay in, easy.
[Operator]
Yes, pay in five metres.
[Video footage]
Close-up of the winch starting to turn. Shot of a chain beginning to be lowered into the ocean, two members of the rigging crew to the side. Aerial shot of the Deep Orient.
[Damian Wake]
This is the main event. We are pulling in the chains one by one and connecting them off. This is the culmination of years of planning to bring this to a head. Awesome, absolutely awesome.
[Video footage]
Close-up shot of the chain being lowered taken from an underwater camera. Text on the bottom displaying coordinates, depth and altitude data.
[Text displays]
E: 534396.9 N: 8475845.8
HDG: 270.5 DEPTH: 57.9 ALT: 0.0
[Video footage]
Close-up of Damian talking to off-screen interviewer inside the turret. In the background, two rigging crew members. Aerial shot of the Deep Orient and the Prelude. Close-up of the crew leader speaking into his radio.
[Crew leader]
Remazel winch, copy. Yes, what loads have we got on the winch at the moment?
[Voiceover]
Slowly but surely the winch hauls in the chain.
[Video footage]
Close-up of the chain being hauled in. Close-up, side-angled view of an engineer speaking into a radio while closely watching a laptop showing the chain being hauled in. Side-angled view of the two operators on the Deep Orient operating the winch.
[Engineer]
Winch good to go another four metres. Pay in four metres.
[Operator]
Yeah mate, coming up.
[Voiceover]
And it begins to emerge.
[Video footage]
Sped-up sequence taken from overhead inside the turret. Close-up of deep blue water. Close-up of the crew leader speaking straight into the camera.
[Crew leader]
You can probably see the yellow socket just over the side here.
[Video footage]
Wide-angled shot taken inside the turret, just under the surface of the water a yellow socket starts to come into view. Close-up of two members of the rigging crew. Close-up taken from an underwater camera of the chain being hauled upwards through the chain connector. Reverse-angled shot of an engineer, out-of-focus, looking at a laptop showing the chain and chain connector. Back to the underwater close-up of the chain connector. Close-up of Damian talking to off-screen interviewer in the turret whilst gesticulating with his hands.
[Damian Wake]
That bang you just heard are as the chain comes through the chain connector, the engineers are looking for a particular link and that’s when they know they are, they’ve pulled the chain into the right length and that is what then holds us in place to the seabed.
[Video footage]
Reverse-angled view of a rigging crew member in the turret looking upwards. Close-up, reverse-angled view of a rigging crew member looking down at the pool in the turret. Close-up of the chain being hauled up slowly out of the water. Close-up of the winch turning. Close-up taken from an underwater camera of the socket locking the chain into place. Close-up of the crew leader speaking into his radio.
[Voiceover]
A final turn of the winch… and the last link locks into place.
[Crew leader]
Dive control, turret.
[Engineer]
Copy.
[Crew leader]
Confirm please that the golden links are sitting nicely.
[Engineer]
Yes, that’s correct.
[Crew leader]
Yes, understood. We’re clear to release the load.
[Engineer]
All stop on the main winch.
[Operator]
That’s all stop, mate. All stop.
[Video footage]
Close-up of an engineer talking into his radio. Back to close-up of the crew leader talking into his radio. Close-up taken from an underwater camera of the socket. Back to close-up of the crew leader talking into his radio. Close-up shot panning left to right of two engineers looking at a laptop, one engineer speaking into a radio. Side-angled view of the Deep Orient operators operating the winch, one of them talking into a radio.
[Voiceover]
And with the eighth mooring line connected, Prelude is storm safe.
[Video footage]
Aerial view of the Prelude, the Deep Orient and the three tugs. Shot of several members of the rigging crew in the turret shaking hands, congratulating each other. Close-up of the two engineers fist-bumping.
[Engineer]
Making history.
[Video footage]
Side-angled view of the two Deep Orient operators high-fiving, then one pats the other on the back. Close-up of a chain link, going out-of-focus. Coming into focus as seen through the opening of the chain link, several rigging crew members still inside the turret. Reverse-angled view of the crew leader inside the turret looking over to the other side of the pool where members of the rigging crew are still at work. Close-up of Damian speaking straight into the camera.
[Damian Wake]
So this is one of the 16 mooring lines that will secure the Prelude facility to the seabed for the next 25 years. This is number eight, so we’re not going anywhere. This is fantastic. Great job. Thank you very much.
[Video footage]
Close-up of several chains and their sockets underwater. Shot of Damian shaking hands with the rigging crew leader. They both turn towards the camera and give two thumbs up. Aerial shot of the Prelude, Deep Orient and the three tugs at dusk, zooming out slowly, text appearing at the bottom.
[Text displays]
Prelude FLNG
#makethefuture
[Audio]
Shell jingle
[Graphic]
Shell Pecten centred on a white background with text displaying below
[Text displays]
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Prelude FLNG
Floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) is a revolutionary technology that will allow Shell to access offshore gas fields that would otherwise be too costly or difficult to develop.