Prelude, whose deck is longer than four soccer fields, was the world's first floating LNG facility to use novel technology and cost over $12 billion, according to estimates. That means the 3.6-million-ton-per-year LNG plant could continue to encounter operational issues, the sources said. A Shell executive said on Wednesday that Prelude was currently undergoing a major turnaround that would last around two months. The decision not to go ahead with extended repairs stemmed in part from concerns that Shell (SHEL.L) would miss out on sales of LNG at a time of strong demand, the sources said. Shell said in response that "turnarounds are a regular part of maintaining LNG facilities and are planned well in advance".

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Persons: Chris Helgren, Shell, Wael Sawan, Sawan, Cederic Cremers, Ron Bousso, Nick Macfie Organizations: Shell, REUTERS, Companies Shell, LNG, Thomson Locations: Vancouver , British Columbia, Canada, Australia, China, Europe, Ukraine