Keppel Constructs First FPSO for GOM

Keppel Shipyard Limited (Keppel Shipyard) is on track to deliver the first floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) to BW Pioneer Ltd, an affiliate of BW Offshore. Named on Oct. 26 at Keppel Shipyard, the vessel BW Pioneer will be turret moored at a water depth of about 2,600 metres – by far the deepest for an FPSO.

The FPSO, which is nearing completion, has achieved an impressive safety record of more than four million incident-free man-hours to-date. BW Pioneer has been leased by Petrobras America Inc. to operate in the Cascade and Chinook fields of the US GoM, with production scheduled for the first quarter of 2010.

Designed to handle the harsh operating conditions in GoM, BW Pioneer is equipped with an internal disconnectable Submerged Turret Production (STP) mooring system and outfitted with advanced safety features to withstand environmental loads from currents, waves and wind. In the event of an approaching hurricane, this highly advanced safety feature will allow the FPSO to disengage from site and move on her own propulsion to seek sheltered waters.

BW Pioneer has a storage capacity of about 600,000 barrels of oil, a process capacity of 80,000 bopd and gas export facilities of 16 mmscfd.

This is the second FPSO Keppel has delivered to BW Offshore this year. FPSO BW Cidade de Sao Vicente which also achieved a zero incident safety record was delivered earlier this year as an Early Well Test (EWT) FPSO for the gigantic Tupi deepwater field.