Floating Production Unit News

An industrial-scale concept for a floating production unit to produce green ammonia has secured Approval in Principle (AiP) from DNV, and the project is now ready to start the Basic Design phase.The NH3 FPSO concept is being developed by Netherlands-based SwitchH2 BV and Norway-based BW Offshore and will be built through conversion of an existing Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) or a dedicated newbuild vessel. Receiving power primarily from a wind farm, the unit will produce hydrogen by electrolysis of seawater and nitrogen through the use of an air separation unit…

Dutch FPSO leasing specialist SBM Offshore has ordered its latest Fast4Ward multi-purpose floater hull as it marked a new record level order book at $31.1 billion. The latest Fast4Ward floating production unit (FPU) is expected to be delivered in 2024, the firm said yesterday in its half year earnings. It also said it could have near-zero emissions FPSO available to the market by 2025. "Our market outlook for new FPSOs remains positive as the world requires energy which is not only sustainable, but also affordable and reliable," said Bruno Chabas, CEO of SBM Offshore.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M)’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, Keppel AmFELS in the U.S. and Keppel Shipyard in Singapore, have been awarded contracts worth around S$75 million (US$54.5 million) for the refurbishment and completion of two floating production units (FPU). The first contract is by Keppel AmFELS with Salamanca FPS Infra, LLC for the refurbishment of a floating production unit to be operated by LLOG Exploration Offshore, LLC, a private exploration and production company in the U.S.Keppel AmFELS’ scope of work on the production facility includes demolition…

Singapore's Sembcorp Marine said Thursday it had completed the construction of the Vito floating production facility, bound for deployment in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for Shell.The integration of Vito’s topside structure with its hull was executed by a pair of goliath cranes with 30,000-tonne combined lifting capacity and 100-meter hook height in Tuas Boulevard Yard in Singapore. "The yard’s ability to perform this type of mega-block lifting enabled the Vito topsides and living quarters to be fabricated and assembled at ground level to minimize work-at-height risks…

China's Cosco Shipping has earlier this month delivered the King’s Quay floating production unit to Ingleside, Texas, aboard its M/V Xiang An Kou semi-submersible heavy transportation vessel, after a long journey from South Korea.The 21,498mt platform, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, will be used for Murphy Oil's offshore oil field developments around 175 miles south of New Orleans in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.The King’s Quay floating production unit is scheduled to go into service in 2022.

Offshore installation company McDermott has won a contract with oil firm BHP for a marine installation campaign for the Shenzi Subsea Multiphase Pumping Project (SSMPP) in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.The project is located around 138 miles (222 kilometers) offshore in the Gulf of Mexico at a water depth of 4,400 feet (1341 meters)."We look forward to continuing our partnership with BHP through this latest contract award," said Mark Coscio, Senior Vice President for McDermott's North, Central, and South America region.

BP's behemoth Argos offshore oil platform, the centerpiece of the company's $9 billion Mad Dog 2 project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, has arrived in the U.S. after a 16,000-mile journey from South Korea.The platform, loaded onboard Boskalis' BOKA Vanguard heavy transport vessel, had left South Korea on February 3, and it has this week arrived in the Kiewit Offshore Services fabrication yard in Ingleside, Texas."The arrival of the new floating production unit is a major milestone towards the completion of Mad Dog 2.

Helix Energy Solutions Group has entered into a new agreement for offshore oil spill response resources with HWCG, a consortium of deepwater oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico who have come together with the shared goal of quickly responding to offshore oil spills.Under the agreement, HWCG’s members are given the opportunity to identify the Helix Fast Response System as a response resource in permit applications to U.S. federal and state agencies, and to deploy the Helix Fast Response System to respond to a well control incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Oil major BP has informed that its Argos oil platform, built by Samsung Heavy Industry, has set sail from South Korea and is en route to Texas.The platform, which will be capable of producing up to 140,000 gross barrels of crude oil per day from up to 14 production wells, will be deployed in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as part of the Mad Dog 2 development.As previously reported, the Argos platform weighing almost 70,000 tons was in January loaded on Boskalis' semi-submersible heavy transport vessel BOKA Vanguard preparation for the sailaway.Announcing the sailaway…

BP's giant Argos offshore platform, to be used for the Mad Dog 2 development in the Gulf of Mexico, was this week loaded on Boskalis' BOKA Vanguard vessel in South Korea and is preparing set sail for the U.S.According to Boskalis, the Dutch marine services contractor, the giant Argos floating production unit weighing nearly 70,000 tons was floated onto Boskalis' semi-submersible heavy transport vessel BOKA Vanguard on Tuesday."The vessel was submerged well over 29 meters to make this happen.

Australian oil and gas company BHP, working to develop the Trion field offshore Mexico, has hired DNV GL to verify that the new infrastructure built for the Trion project is compliant with local and global safety, as well as other requirements. BHP acquired the Trion asset in Mexico’s first-ever Deepwater Bid Round in 2016. The Trion field encompasses an area of 1,285 square kilometers and is located in the deep waters of the Perdido belt. BHP is the operator holding a 60% interest in the development and PEMEX is the non-operating partner with a 40% interest.Last week…

Offshore workers kidnapped from an FPSO offshore Nigeria in an armed pirate attack in July, have been released, the owner of the floating production unit said Friday.In an incident that occurred on July 2, nine Nigerian crew members aboard the BW Offshore-owned Sendje Berge FPSO were kidnapped.BW Offshore said Friday the workers had been released."BW Offshore is very pleased that all of the offshore employees have been safely released.

Total S.A announced the final investment decision (FID) to develop the Anchor oil field located in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM), off the coast of Louisiana.Additionally, front-end engineering and design (FEED) has begun for the North Platte discovery in the deepwater GoM.Total holds a working interest of 37.14% in Anchor, alongside operator Chevron (62.86%).The Anchor field will be developed with seven subsea wells connected to a semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) with a capacity of 75,000 barrels of crude oil and 28 million cubic feet of gas per day. First oil is expected in 2024.Anchor will be the first development to use the high-pressure 20…

Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters Pte. Ltd. has won a contract from Shell Offshore Inc. to build and integrate the topside and hull of a Floating Production Unit (FPU) for the Whale field in the Gulf of Mexico.The agreement precedes a final investment decision (FID) for the full Whale project, expected to be made next year by Shell. It paves the way for the Whale FPU to move ahead and take advantage of synergies from the ongoing Shell Vito FPU, currently under construction at Sembcorp Marine’s Tuas Boulevard Yard, the builder said.

Dutch dredging company Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. has been awarded the contract for the seabed intervention and shore crossing activities for Woodside’s proposed Scarborough export gas pipeline in northwest Australia.The contract awarded by Woodside Energy Ltd. (Woodside), in its capacity as operator of the Scarborough Joint Venture, potentially carries a value of EUR 145 million if all options are called and is subject to a final investment decision which is expected in 2020.The contract is for preparatory activities related to offshore deepwater excavation, pipeline crossing, nearshore and shore crossing works for the export trunkline…

Neptune Energy East Sepinggan, subsidiary of the European exploration and production company Neptune Energy has agreed to acquire interests from the Eni East Sepinggan Limited, a unit of Eni in the Kutei basin production sharing contracts (PSC) offshore Indonesia.According to a press release from the Italian multinational oil and gas company, it  will continue to be the Operator of the area which is located in the East Sepinggan area, offshore East Kalimantan in Indonesia, and includes Merakes development and Merakes East discovery. The agreement is subject to the necessary authorizations from Indonesia’s authorities.The release pointed out that Eni and Neptune Energy are already partners in the Muara Bakau area…

Italian energy giant Eni announced that Indonesia has approved its investment plan for the Merakes project, located in the Kutei Basin, offshore East Kalimantan.Eni will now start work on developing the project, which will involve drilling and constructing subsea wells in water depths of 1,500 metres. These will be connected to the Jangkrik floating production unit 35 km northeast of the site.he gas production will be shipped to the Bontang LNG plant using also all the other existing facilities of Jangkrik field as well as the East Kalimantan transportation network. This new production will contribute also to the life extension of the…

Sembcorp Marine announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Shell Offshore for the construction of the hull and topside as well as the integration of the Vito floating production unit (FPU). If the project moves forward, the Vito FPU will be a new facility located in the Mississippi Canyon, approximately 150 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, in water depth of 4,050 ft. Comprising a single topside module supported by a 4-column semisubmersible floating hull, the Vito FPU is designed with a throughput capacity of 100,000 bpd of oil and 100 MMSCFD of gas. Final contract award will be dependent upon Shell and its partners sanctioning the project.

Maritime industry technology specialists Martek Marine say it is setting the bar high when it comes to offshore gas safety. The company has developed a first-of-its-kind gas sampling system for a new moored floating production unit, which forms part of the Jangkrik Complex gas fields development in Indonesia. The system has been developed to dramatically improve offshore crew safety through the use of advanced gas sampling technology. The worst offshore disaster in history, the Piper disaster on July 6…

Samsung Heavy Industries, South Korea's major shipyard, build a floating production unit for British oil multinational BP that will be used in offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, says a report in Yonhap. The 1.5 trillion won ($1.26 billion) contract is the first for a floating oil production platform to be received by any of South Korea's big three shipbuilders in 18 months, according to Samsung Heavy. Under the deal with BP Plc, Samsung Heavy will build a floating production unit (FPU) by August 2020. The semi-submersible platform will be used for BP’s field development project, called ‘Mad Dog II,” in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Production began in the Mad Dog oil field in 2005.

On April 21, Hyundai-10000, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI)’s newest floating crane, succeeded to the throne of “symbol of HHI” from the two 1,600-ton gantry cranes at its offshore yard by lifting a topside module of Moho Nord tension leg platform (TLP) at once. What makes Hyundai-10000 a successor to the 1,600-ton Goliath cranes is not just because it is new but because it has an unparalleled lifting capacity at one of the world’s biggest offshore yards. Hyundai-10000 can lift subjects about six times heavier than the Goliath crane, hence its name.

Maersk Oil said on Wednesday it would seek regulatory permission to shut its Janice installation, which produces around 7,000 barrels per day (bpd) from three UK North Sea oilfields, as the Danish firm reviews its operations due to falling oil prices. It is one of the first North Sea oil fields to be threatened with closure due to the drop in prices, with Brent crude futures having plunged to around $43 a barrel from over $100 a barrel last June. North Sea producers have been under increasing pressure to cut costs and improve production efficiency…

When the Dockwise Vanguard was conceived, Dockwise, part of the Boskalis Group, had a vision for a new market - transporting the world’s largest cargoes, including FPSOs (floating production storage and offloading vessels). It hasn’t taken the vessel, the largest heavy transport vessel in the world, long to prove its worth, as well as the feasibility of such a feat. The vessel has currently transported its first ship-shaped FPSO cargo, Bumi Armada’s Armada Intrepid, to South East Asia which also happens to be one of the three largest cargoes ever transported.