

Bird’s-Eye-View of Largest Floating Structure Ever Built - dgudkov
http://gcaptain.com/prelude-flng-taking-shape-birds-eye-view-of-largest-floating-structure-ever-built

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Someone
Longest, maybe, but largest? This:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneering_Spirit_(ship)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneering_Spirit_\(ship\))
has 50% more displacement (and also is a proper ship. It can propel itself)

I guess there are some artificial floating islands that could lay claim to
being the largest or longest, too
([https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_island#Artificial_i...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_island#Artificial_islands))

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jackgavigan
That thing belongs in a Neal Stephenson novel.

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amelius
I imagine this is what software would look like if it were physical.

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Plough_Jogger
No, software is far more modular and rides on the top of a whale.

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simonebrunozzi
I was just going to write it, then I saw that you did already. Nice one :)

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namuol
I couldn't resist...

[http://vmashup.com/tQSLa38u](http://vmashup.com/tQSLa38u)

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zxc1234
Hey don´t worry! No Koreans where interviewed! They are "just building the
ship".

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bithead
The individual sections being loaded reminded me of the Borg ship.

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qnaal
is 'oil company background music' a meme yet?

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vvpan
"Shell is about people."

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dmead
we're sorry m8s

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noobie
Won't we run out of fossil fuels in like 50 years tops? Why make such an
investment?

I am still, however, in awe of the magnitude of the project!

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ximeng
"Shell plans to moor the Prelude FLNG some 200 kilometers off western
Australia at the Prelude gas field for 25 years, where it is expected to
produce the equivalent of 110,000 BOE per day."

25 years < 50 years

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fdej
110000 BOE per day = 7.78 GW. An estimate from 2013 cited on Wikipedia claims
the cost of the vessel is US$10.8 to 12.6 billion. Is there a reliable
estimate of how much solar power you could install for the same cost?

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timthelion
[http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-
data](http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data)

In 2012 something like 3.5 GW were installed for something like $12 billion
USD.

See the graph titled "U.S. Solar Industry Forcast" for output

See the graph titled "Value of Yearly U.S. Solar Instalations" for cost

Personally, I hope that the US solar instalations will last more than 25
years. I also hope that Shell is paying Australia for the gass that is being
pumped out. I presume that the total cost will be about the same as solar.
However, natural gass is really usefull stuff and can be shipped and stored
more efficiently than electricity. So even though the price is about the same
as solar, the value is higher.

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sneak
> I also hope that Shell is paying Australia for the gass that is being pumped
> out.

Why? Australia doesn't hold title to the oceans.

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mig39
This area is being jointly developed by Australia and East Timor, I believe.

200 miles is standard for an Exclusive Economic Zone.

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D_Alex
Prelude is not near East Timor, you may be thinking of Sunrise.

See eg. : [http://www.smh.com.au/business/woodside-petroleum-calls-
for-...](http://www.smh.com.au/business/woodside-petroleum-calls-for-
alignment-on-sunrise-gas-20150208-137uhy.html)

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codeddesign
All I read from that article was the word "liquid". I'll get my popcorn ready
for when that ship gets a haul breach.

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mcpherrinm
LNG quickly becomes a gas when leaked -- you won't see dramatic environmental
disasters like with crude oil.

It's also not flammable or explosive in its liquid form, so I suspect you
won't see a dramatic explosive failure either.

Of course, it could start leaking and burn when mixed with enough air, but I
can't help but wonder how sustainable a fire that would be: The air/fuel mix
would not be controlled at all, and would probably quickly burn and stop.

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MaysonL
Try googling "lng explosion". It is cold, so is denser than air and spreads
out on the surface, and when ignited goes off with a big bang.

