Shell announced on Tuesday that it has finally sent the first shipment of LNG from its Prelude floating production facility off the coast of Australia. The facility is located almost 482 kilometers offshore of western Australia. The Prelude project of Shell’s is a FLNG facility which has grown into a USD15 billion investment for Shell and its minority stakeholders. Shell has a stake of 67.5% in the project and the remaining is held by the Korea Gas Corp., Inpex Corp and Overseas Private Investment Corp.

With an annual capacity of 3.6 million tons of LNG, Australia is expected to move over Qatar as the top LNG exporter of the world, once the Prelude project starts running to full capacity. When at the top of production, Prelude FLNG will be able to fill one shipborne cargo every week. The US led by Louisiana and Texas is also quickly catching up to the top leaders of LNG.

The LNG projects in Australia have received investments of over USD 20 billion over a decade. The first shipment from Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility is on course to different customers in Asia. The Crux project, which is Shell’s next development in Australia, is predicted to provide LNG to Prelude and other facilities of FLNG for years to come.

According to TechSci, the Prelude project will help in catering the increasing demand for cleaner energy across the globe. The project will also form an integral part of Shell’s global portfolio.

As per the report published by TechSci Research, Global LNG Market Demand & Supply Analysis, By Region (Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, South America and North America), By Country, By LNG Terminal, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011-2025, growing focus on expansion of gas pipeline infrastructure, rising demand for natural gas from downstream sectors, declining LNG prices coupled with implementation of favorable government policies is boosting demand for LNG across the globe. Increasing focus on development of adequate support infrastructure in various developing as well as developed economies is expected to boost LNG demand in the coming years.

As per another related report published by TechSci Research, China LNG Market Demand & Supply Analysis, By End-User, By LNG Terminals Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 – 2021, China stands among top 15 countries with largest proved natural gas reserves, globally. The Chinese government is spending heavily on exploration and production activities such as 2D and 3D seismic surveys, in order to explore proved reserves and address the growing domestic requirements for natural gas. In China, majority of the natural gas fields are situated onshore in Western and North-central parts of the country.

As per another TechSci Research report, India LNG Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2025, increasing focus on expansion of gas pipeline infrastructure, rising demand for natural gas from power and industrial sectors coupled with favorable government policies is making LNG a commercially viable fuel for an increasing number of end user industries in India. As a result, LNG demand is forecast to witness robust growth over the next 5-10 years.