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First Oil News

27 Dec 2023

Equinor Starts Operating First Hybrid PSV in Brazilian Waters

Hybrid PSV for Equinor's Brazilian ops (Credit: Equinor)

The first hybrid Platform Supply Vessel (PSV), which uses batteries and diesel for propulsion, has started operating for Equinor in Brazil.With the battery bank installed, the PSV is able to operate with hybrid propulsion, switching between the use of electricity and diesel. This is expected to reduce emissions by up to 40% during vessel’s activities.The PSV will be part of the logistics of the Bacalhau field, in the Santos Basin, where Equinor has a majority stake secured in…

17 Dec 2023

Esgian: Rigs on the Move in Asia and Europe

Source: OMV

This week Esgian’s Week 50 Rig Analytics Market Roundup notes developments in the semisub sector including that Shell has decided to exercise its option on Stena Don in the North Sea but not on Deepsea Bollsta in Namibia. Meanwhile, a new contract for the Transocean Barents will see it operate in the Black Sea, and jackup Shelf Drilling Perseverance will move to Vietnam.ContractsShelf Drilling has secured a contract award for the 400ft Shelf Drilling Perseverance jackup rig with PetroVietnam Domestic Exploration Production Operating Company Limited (PVEP POC).

13 Dec 2023

FPSO Atlanta Prepped to Join Yinson Fleet in '24

Yinson Production officially named its latest addition to the fleet, FPSO Atlanta, during a naming ceremony held at Dubai Drydocks World on December 13, 2023. Image courtesy Yinson Production

Yinson Production officially named its latest addition to the fleet, FPSO Atlanta, during a naming ceremony held at Dubai Drydocks World on December 13, 2023.FPSO Atlanta has a production capacity of 50,000 BOPD and a maximum storage capacity of 1,251,000 bbls. It will feature a carbon management process plant, which uses fuel gas for cargo tank inertization that will significantly reduce flare gas emissions through a closed flare system.Yinson Production and Enauta entered into…

17 Nov 2023

MODEC Hits Milestone: First Steel Cut in China for Guyana-Bound FPSO Errea Wittu

Credit: MODEC (file image)

Japanese FPSO leasing firm MODEC said Thursday that the first steel-cutting ceremony for the Guyana-bound FPSO Errea Wittu had been held in China.MODEC secured its first order to supply an FPSO to Guyana in May 2023. The order came from an ExxonMobil-led consortium and is for the deployment of the FPSO to the giant Stabroek offshore block in Guyana, where Exxon already has three FPSOs in production, all three supplied by SBM Offshore.According to World Energy Reports, China's DSIC has the construction hull contract…

24 Oct 2023

Harland & Wolff Belfast Bags $74M Canadian FPSO Refurbishment Deal

Credit: Harland & Wolff

Harland & Wolff has secured a contract with Canada-based Cenovus Energy for the mid-life upgrade of the SeaRose FPSO vessel. The base contract value is approximately £61 million (~currently around $74 million). The FPSO is expected to arrive at Harland & Wolff in Belfast in the first quarter of 2024 and will be in the building dock for a period of more than three months.The contract follows a letter of intent announced earlier this year, and a number of pre-arrival works have already started…

21 Jun 2023

The Evolving FPSO Landscape – Healthy Demand, Changing Procurement

 Credit: Igor Kardasov/AdobeStock

After a slowdown in activity during 2020/2021 due to soft commodity prices, demand for FPSOs is picking up.With exploration hotspots like Namibia’s Orange Basin and the East Mediterranean delivering new finds, the FPSO market outlook is healthy. But shipyard capacity constraints are beginning to weigh on delivery, leading to cost concerns. Furthermore, FPSO demand is competing for yard space with other construction projects.To mitigate delay risk and cost overruns, some E&Ps have reviewed their FPSO procurement strategies.

19 Jun 2023

Brazil-bound FPSO Sepetiba Departs BOMESC Shipyard in China

(Photo: SBM Offshore)

The Brazil-bound FPSO Sepetiba sailed away from the BOMESC shipyard in China on June 16, 2023, following completion of the topsides integration and onshore commissioning phases.The unit—SBM Offshore’s third Fast4Ward FPSO—is transiting to the Mero field in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil, located 180 kilometers offshore Rio de Janeiro. SBM Offshore has a contract with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for the 22.5 years lease and operation of FPSO Sepetiba. First oil is expected in the second half of 2023.The FPSO will have the capacity to produce up to 180…

10 May 2023

MODEC to Deliver Highly Complex FPSO for Equinor's $9B Project Offshore Brazil

Credit: MODEC

Japanese FPSO supplier MODEC has won a contract with Equinor to supply an FPSO vessel for the BM-C-33 block of the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. The order comes just days after Equinor and its partners Repsol Sinopec Brasil, and Petrobras took the $9 billion investment decision to develop the BM-C-33 project in Brazil. Located in the Campos Basin, BM-C-33 comprises three different pre-salt discoveries – Pão de Açúcar, Gávea and Seat – containing natural gas and oil/condensate…

09 May 2023

MODEC Confirms Its First FPSO Order in Guyana

Credit: MODEC

Japan's MODEC said Monday it would proceed with engineering, procurement, and construction on the Uaru FPSO vessel following a final investment decision on the Uaru offshore oil project by ExxonMobil in Guyana last month.The Uaru FPSO is named ‘Errea Wittu’, which means ‘abundance,’ and will be the fifth offshore FPSO in Guyana and the first to be supplied by MODEC. The first four, two of which are now in production in the Stabroek block off Guyana, were/will be delivered by SBM Offshore.Apart from supplying the Errea Wittu FPSO…

11 Apr 2023

Gallery: Third FPSO Arrives in Guyana's Stabroek Block

FPSO Prosperity - ©SBM Offshore

Dutch FPSO specialist SBM Offshore on Tuesday announced the arrival of the FPSO Prosperity at the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.The FPSO traveled just over 11,000 nautical miles – or just over 20,000 kilometers - from Singapore to Guyana in just under 50 days.On track for first oil later this year, Prosperity becomes Guyana’s third FPSO, joining two other SBM Offshore-delivered FPSOs, the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity.The FPSO will be spread moored in water depth of about 1,900 meters and is designed to produce 220…

24 Mar 2023

VIDEO: Hull of Giant Guyana-bound FPSO Enters Drydock in Singapore

©SBM Offshore

Dutch FPSO leasing company SBM Offshore said Friday that the China-built hull of the FPSO ONE Guyana had entered drydock at Keppel Shipyard in Singapore. One Guyana is one of SBM Offshore's largest-ever FPSO Units and is being built for deployment at ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. "The FPSO ONE GUYANA project passing another major milestone: the vessel successfully entered drydock at the Keppel yard in Singapore. The project team will continue construction with the next steps being the installation of the mooring structures and riser balcony.

01 Feb 2023

Keppel to Deliver Guyana-bound 'Mega' FPSO to SBM Offshore in 1Q

©Keppel

Singapore's Keppel Offshore & Marine said Wednesday it was on track to deliver a "mega" floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO) to SBM Offshore in the first quarter of 2023. This is the third FPSO that Keppel Shipyard is delivering to SBM Offshore and will be chartered to the consortium of ExxonMobil, CNOOC, and Hess, to operate in the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana. The vessel was named Prosperity FPSO by Guest of Honour,  Arya Ali, the First Lady of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana at a ceremony held Wednesday at Keppel Shipyard.

12 Dec 2022

Shell's 34,000t North Sea-bound Penguins FPSO Leaves Chinese Shipyard

Credit: Boskalis (supplied)

Shell's Penguins FPSO has set sail from China loaded aboard Boskalis' White Marlin semi-submersible heavy transportation vessel.In a social media post on Thursday, Boskalis said: "Boskalis’ semi-submersible transport vessel White Marlin departed from Qingdao, China with an impressive cargo; the 34,000-ton cylinder-shaped Shell Penguins FPSO. After a smooth and safe float-on and [seafastening] campaign, the vessel started her journey to Norway." At the time of writing, the White Marlin was sailing past the east coast of Taiwan…

17 Oct 2022

Guyana Launches Tender for Its First Oil Refinery

©TTstudio

Guyana has called for proposals to design, finance and build a 30,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) oil refinery, the first for the South American country as it becomes a force in crude oil production. Construction work on the facility, to be located on public land near the Berbice river, is expected to begin by the first half of 2023 with project completion two years after. Requests are due in mid-December. An Exxon Mobil-led consortium has ramped up oil and gas output to almost 400,000 bpd this year, a rapid increase for a country that only inaugurated crude production in 2019.

14 Oct 2022

VIDEO: Topside Module Construction Starts for Giant ONE Guyana FPSO

The Dutch FPSO leasing specialist SBM Offshore said Friday the construction of the topside modules had kicked off in Singapore for one of the company's largest-ever FPSO units, the One Guyana FPSO."During September this year, two steel strike ceremonies were held in both Keppel FELS and DynaMac yards. This marks a key milestone, which is the start of the fabrication of the marine structures and the topside modules," SBM Offshore said.SBM Offshore received an order from ExxonMobil in April to deliver the One Guyana FPSO for the Yellowtail development offshore Guyana.

08 Sep 2022

Chevron Supplies First Stem of 40 BN Category II Lube Oil

Pat McCloud, General Manager, Chevron Global Marine Lubricants (Photo: Chevron Global Marine Lubricants)

Chevron Marine Lubricants said it made its first delivery of a 40 BN Category II lube oil on August 30, in a breakthrough moment for operators of MAN ES Mk9 and above two-stroke engines, when it supplied a stem of its new Taro Ultra Advanced 40 to SIEM Car Carriers.“We are very pleased that Taro Ultra Advanced 40 is now available to our customers and that we have successfully made the first delivery,” said Pat McCloud, General Manager, Chevron Global Marine Lubricants. “From September, it will be available at major ports across Europe and Asia Pacific, including Singapore and Rotterdam.

16 Aug 2022

Battery-Electric Surge: ESS Scales Up in Maritime

Battery friendly: the DC set-up aboard an ESS-equipped VARD vessel. Image courtesy Vard

Ask the right government department in any G7 state and you’ll find funding to put battery power for your vessel. Beyond funds, new battery makers and system integrators are ironing out safety issues, and a growing number of giga-sized cell factories offer hope that costs will fall for marine energy storage, as ESS choice grows. Efforts are also underway to recycle rare earth elements and to augment or greenify staggeringly high plant electricity inputs. Apart from funding, the drivers of change include constraints on shipping in Emissions Free Areas like the fjords of Norway…

18 Jul 2022

Guyana Races Against the Clock to Bank Its Offshore Oil Bonanza

Liza Destiny FPSO offshore Guyana - Credit: Rolf Jonsen

For the poor, small South American country of Guyana, there's no time like the present when it comes to reaping the rewards of its offshore oil jackpot.With sky-high oil prices, a transition to renewable energy on the horizon, and 750,000 citizens desperate for better lives, Guyana is putting its foot on the gas to exploit its vast oil reserves, even if that means sacrificing some longer-term gains.Already locked into contracts with oil firms that have been criticized for being too one-sided…

14 Feb 2022

Liza Unity: Exxon's Second FPSO in Guyana Produces First Oil

 Liza Unity is Guyana's second FPSO in production. - Image Credit: SBM Offshore

Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday said it is accelerating output at its Guyana offshore oil development, starting a new production vessel that will bring total capacity to more than 340,000 barrels per day.An Exxon-led consortium started production in the South America country in 2019 and is responsible for all oil and gas output in Guyana. Exxon and partners Hess Corp and CNOOC Ltd. have discovered some 10 billion barrels of oil.Production at the Liza Unity floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is expected to reach 220,000 barrels of oil per day later this year, Exxon said.

07 Jun 2022

Israel-Lebanon Sea Boundary Row Obstructs Energy Development

Credit: wavemovies/AdobeStock

A dispute between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime boundary has obstructed energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and risks exacerbating tensions between two foes.After months of deadlock in U.S.-mediated talks, Beirut on Sunday warned against any activity in the disputed area, responding to the arrival of a vessel to develop a field for Israel. Lebanon has said the field in question, Karish, is in disputed waters. Israel denies this.Here's what you need to know about the standoff:WHAT'S AT STAKE?Gas - potentially a lot of it.Lebanon and Israel are located in the Levant Basin…

31 Mar 2022

VIDEO: SBM Offshore's Prosperity FPSO Leaves Dry Dock in Singapore

The hull of the FPSO Prosperity, which will be Guyana's third offshore production unit after the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity, has recently left the dry dock in Singapore, in preparation for topside installation works.The hull arrived in Singapore last year from China where it was built. In Singapore, Keppel will install the topside modules and all other major structures, after which the vessel will set sail for Guyana, to be deployed at ExxonMobil's giant Stabroek Block.When the hull arrived in Singapore in August 2021…

20 Apr 2022

VIDEO: First Topside Modules Being Installed Aboard Prosperity FPSO

Credit: SBM Offshore / YT/Screenshot

FPSO specialist SBM Offshore has shared a video showing the lifting and installation of the first topside module batch for the Prosperity FPSO at the Keppel O&M yard in Singapore. The hull of the FPSO Prosperity, which will be Guyana's third offshore production unit after the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity, has recently left the dry dock in preparation for topside installation works, which have now started.The Prosperity FPSO hull arrived in Singapore last year from China where it was built.

17 Feb 2022

CGX Energy to Start Dredging, Dock Construction for Port in Guyana

©Zerophoto/AdobeStock

Canada-based oil company CGX Energy OYL.V will begin dredging and building the docks of a key deepwater port at Berbice, in eastern Guyana, planned to serve the South American nation's oil and agriculture sectors, the firm's chairman said on Wednesday.CGX Energy unit Grand Canal Industrial Estates in 2010 acquired a 50-year lease for a 55-acre parcel strategically located near the Berbice River for the project. When complete, it would become Guyana's third oil port and its only deepwater facility."The construction of docks and dredging will begin very shortly…