/Today Shell celebrated the cutting of first steel for the game-changing Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility’s substructure with joint venture participants, Inpex and KOGAS, and lead contractor, the Technip Samsung Consortium, at Samsung Heavy Industries’ Geoje shipyard in South Korea.

Shell’s Projects & Technology Director Matthias Bichsel commented: “We are cutting 7.6 tonnes of steel for the Prelude floating liquefied natural gas facility today, but in total, more than 260,000 tonnes of steel will be fabricated and assembled for the facility. That’s around five times the amount of steel used to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Today’s ceremony marks a major milestone in this project, when the innovative thinking and new technology and engineering solutions which will make FLNG possible begin to be realised.”

When completed, the Prelude FLNG facility will be 488 metres long and 74 metres wide, making it the largest offshore floating facility ever built. When fully equipped and with its cargo tanks full, it will weigh more than 600,000 tonnes. There will be over 3,000 kilometres of electrical and instrumentation cables on the FLNG facility, the distance from Barcelona to Moscow.

“Making FLNG a reality is no simple feat,” Matthias continued. “Shell is uniquely positioned to make it a success given our commercial capability; our LNG, offshore, deepwater and marine technology; and our proven ability to successfully deliver megaprojects.”

In order to meet the world’s growing energy demand, bringing new supplies to market is critical. The Prelude FLNG facility will be deployed in Australian waters over 200 kilometres from the nearest point on the coast. It will produce gas at sea, turn it into liquefied natural gas and then transfer it directly to the ships that will transport it to customers.

An expert team from Shell will manage the multi-year construction of the FLNG facility to ensure the Prelude project’s critical dimensions of safety, quality, cost and schedule are delivered. Strategic partners Technip and Samsung Heavy Industries (the Technip Samsung Consortium) along with SBM and hundreds of suppliers and contractors around the world are all contributing valuable knowledge, skills and equipment to help make the project a success. At peak levels, around 5,000 people will be working on the construction of the FLNG facility in South Korea; and another 1,000 will build the turret mooring system, subsea and wells equipment in other locations across the globe.

Foster Wheeler AG (Nasdaq: FWLT) announced today that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) contract by LANXESS Butyl Pte. Ltd. for a new neodymium polybutadiene (Nd-PBR) rubber plant to be built on Jurong Island, Singapore. This award follows Foster Wheeler’s successful completion of the front-end engineering design for this project earlier this year. Foster Wheeler’s scope of work is expected to be completed in 2014.

The Foster Wheeler contract value for this project was not disclosed and will be included in the company’s third-quarter 2012 bookings.The new facility, which facility LANXESS states is expected to be the largest of its kind in the world, will be designed to produce 140,000 tonnes per annum of Nd-PBR and will include process and finishing buildings, a central control room, a substation and a tank farm. It will be built alongside LANXESS’ 100,000 tonnes-per-year synthetic butyl rubber plant, the largest facility of its type in Asia, due to start up in 2013, and for which Foster Wheeler is also the EPCm contractor.

Nd-PBR is used in tire manufacturing. LANXESS states that its use reduces rolling resistance and increases vehicle energy efficiency compared with conventional tire rubber, also reducing tire abrasion, playing a significant role in making cars safer as well as “greener” and more economical.

“We have built an excellent working relationship with LANXESS and we are looking forward to further developing a long-term business relationship based on our performance in delivering LANXESS’ projects safely and successfully,” said Umberto della Sala, Chief Operating Officer, Foster Wheeler AG.

“We are pleased to strengthen the successful relationship with Foster Wheeler in order to continue to jointly and safely implement the LANXESS growth strategy in the Asia Pacific region," said Carsten Kopke, project director, LANXESS Asia Pacific.

ABB, the leading automation technology group, received an order to provide electrification, automation and drive solutions for Medcem’s greenfield cement plant project in Turkey. The contract was awarded in July 2012.  The new plant will be located in Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast. With an estimated 10’000 tons of clinker per day, the plant will have the largest production capacity in Turkey. Production start-up is planned for March 2014.

ABB’s scope of supply for the greenfield project includes its state-of-the-art control System 800xA, Expert Optimizer process optimization software, medium and low voltage electrical motors, ACS800 series low voltage drives, ACS1000 and ACS6000 series medium voltage drives, ZS1 series medium voltage cubicles, MNS series low voltage cubicles, site erection, installation, commissioning and services. The equipment will provide high availability of the complete production process and raise efficiency through high-quality production at low energy consumption.

Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced that Fluor Offshore Solutions, a unit of Fluor, has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) support contract for Phase 3 of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project. The project is being undertaken on behalf of the Philippine Government by the Service Contract 38 consortium composed of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (Operator), Chevron Malampaya LLC and Philippine National Oil Company—Exploration Corporation. This landmark project is among the most significant in the Philippines. Approximately 40 percent of the power for the main island of Luzon is generated by power plants using Malampaya gas. This new contract follows Fluor’s successful completion of the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for Phase 3. Fluor booked the undisclosed contract value in the third quarter.

“This new EPC contract for the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project solidifies our strength in the growing global offshore gas market,” said Peter Oosterveer, Fluor’s president for Energy & Chemicals. “Fluor’s long-term presence in the Philippines is a testament to the outstanding work by our professionals, now 2,220 strong, in our Manila and Cebu offices, who are providing full-service project execution.”

Fluor Offshore Solutions is providing detailed engineering, procurement and selected construction support services as well as supporting the Shell team in managing the local fabricator.