GE Oil & Gas has started production of four high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) dynamic flexible risers destined for Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility, located 250km off the coast of Western Australia.

GE has partnered with Shell on the project since 2011, following an initial order for turbomachinery equipment. The two companies have since collaborated on the subsea flexibles scope which resulted in 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.

According to the company, 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.

“Despite the industry downturn continuing to affect the LNG market, long-term we believe FLNG has the potential to evolve into a promising segment, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, where there are areas of high energy demand and the presence of large-scale offshore gas fields. Notwithstanding that, investment in HP/HT technologies should be viewed as critical for both operators and the supply chain looking at exploiting ever-more challenging environments. I am proud of the skills and expertise of our team, who have demonstrated the commitment we make to our customers to develop industry-leading, future-oriented technology solutions to meet their needs,” said Andrew Atkinson, commercial director, Asia-Pacific and India at GE Oil & Gas.