Gas Production Floater News

The global oil and natural gas markets are contending with rebounding energy demand on top of supply disruptions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result, activity and business sentiment in the floating production sector have seldom been stronger. Brent crude has been trading above $100 over the past three months, generating record profits for E&P operators -- providing an incentive to increase capital expenditures on new development projects.Several FPSO projects have moved into the near-term contract queue…

COVID-19 will continue to skew the floating production systems market for the coming 24 months, while buying power for a large portion of FPSO contracts will be centered in Brazil and Guyana/Suriname. These two areas are expected to account for more than 60% of the FPSO contracts awarded between 2021 and 2025.These are the findings shared in a recent floating production outlook report produced by International Maritime Associates (IMA) and World Energy Reports (WER).The 100+ page…

Fifteen production floaters were contracted in 2017 – 11 FPSOs, two production semis, a wellhead TLP and an FLNG – and the number of deep water projects in the near-term planning queue indicates production floater orders are set to accelerate. This is a big change from 2016 when orders for new units totally dried up and the deepwater future looked pretty bleak. Here’s a round-up of contracts awarded last year and in January 2018. Tempera FPSO - Keppel in January 2017 received a contract from Dixstone Holdings…

No question that the market for new floating production systems has taken a battering. The past 12 to 18 months have been a difficult period for everyone in the business sector. Absence of new contracts has forced fabricators and equipment suppliers to make huge cutbacks in personnel and spending. But deepwater production will rebound – oil demand keeps growing -- and though the signs are mixed we see indications of the rebound starting. First some numbers about the state of the business. 261 oil/gas floating production units are currently installed on offshore fields.

Despite industry gloom about the offshore market, orders for production floaters continue to flow. Over the past few weeks a speculatively-ordered FLNG found use off Africa, negotiations began to convert a third LNG carrier to an FLNG, an FSRU was ordered and a modified LNG tanker has been leased for storage use. Looking forward, we are tracking 30 projects considered likely to generate contracts for floating production units over the next 18 months. Among the likely awards are 18 FPSOs, 2 production semis, 5 LNG liquefaction or regasification units and 5 FSOs.

What’s New in October 2014? Today 324 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 65% of the existing systems, 78% of systems on order. Production semis, barges, spars and TLPs comprise the balance. The oil/gas production floater inventory is the same as last month. There were no orders for additional production systems in September. Another 30 floating LNG processing systems are in service or on order. Liquefaction floaters account for 17%, regasification floaters 83%.

Today there are 324 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 64% of the existing systems, 79% of systems on order. Production semis, barges, spars and TLPs comprise the balance. The oil/gas production floater inventory has increased by four units since last month. Three FPSOs were ordered in August. We also reinstated a partially completed production semi,  Octobuoy, which we earlier deleted from the list of orders when the contract was terminated. This unit was being built for use by ATP in the North Sea.

There are 320 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 64% of the existing systems, 79% of systems on order. Production semis, barges, spars and TLPs comprise the balance. Total oil/gas inventory is the same as last month – but two units on order last month (N’Goma FPSO and Delta House Semi) were completed and are now in the active inventory. Another 29 floating LNG processing systems are in service or on order. Liquefaction floaters account for 17%, regasification floaters 83%.

The floating production business continues to be very strong, particularly in the LNG gas processing sector. Last month saw a speculatively ordered floating liquefaction plant – a $1.2 billion contract – as well as several regasification vessel contracts. Here’s a snapshot of what’s happening in the business. In total, 320 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 65% of the existing systems, 78% of systems on order. Production semis, barges, spars and TLPs comprise the balance.

Currently, 320 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 65% of the existing systems, 76% of systems on order. Production semis, barges, spars and TLPs comprise the balance. Total oil/gas inventory is down two units since last month – two off-field FPSOs have been scrapped. Another 27 floating LNG processing systems are in service or on order. Liquefaction floaters account for 15%, regasification floaters 85%. No liquefaction floaters are yet in service – all four are on order.

An EPC contract for a production unit can easily exceed $1 billion – and $3 billion for an FPSO has recently been breached. Overall, this is a $20 to $30 billion annual market. But, as described below, the sector is hitting some headwinds that could impact future business opportunities. 243 floating production projects are in various stages of planning as of beginning May. Of these, 57% involve an FPSO, 16% another type oil/gas production floater, 23% liquefaction or regasification floater and 5% storage/offloading floater.

Floating production has been one of the most significant developments in the oil and gas industry over the past four decades. Since the first floating production unit (Argyll) was installed in 1975, more than 350 offshore fields too deep, too remote or too small for fixed platforms have been developed using floating production facilities. Looking forward, the future of the sector continues to look very promising, but some barriers and threats to growth have appeared. Three hundred and twenty (320) oil/gas floating production units are now in service…

The number of floating production systems continues to grow;  349 floating production units are now in service, on order or off-field/being remarketed. This inventory is 5% higher than a year ago, 27% higher than five years ago. Current Inventory: Of the total, 320 units are used for oil/gas production. Included in this figure are 211 FPSOs. They are the most common type system, comprising 65% of the existing systems and 72% of the systems on order. The remaining consists of 10 production barges, 48 semis, 23 spars and 28 TLPs. Another 29 units are floating LNG processing systems.

Today, 319 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 65% of the existing systems, 74% of systems on order. Another 25 floating LNG processing systems are in service or on order. Liquefaction floaters account for 12%, regasification floaters 88%. No liquefaction floaters are yet in service – all three are on order. In addition, 101 floating storage units are in service, on order or available. The number of production units off field and available for redeployment continues to grow.

The number of floating production units grew 5% in 2013. Here we examine the global market and future opportunities. Currently, there are 319 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 65% of the existing systems, 75% of systems on order. Another 24 floating LNG processing systems are in service or on order. Liquefaction floaters account for 13%, regasification floaters 87%. No liquefaction floaters are yet in service – all three are on order.