Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) have entered into a USD 590 million agreement with Dutch SBM Offshore N.V. to buy a combined 45% stake in a Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) system Turritella.
MC (30% interest), NYK Line (15% interest) and SBM Offshore (55% interest) will charter, operate and maintain the FPSO Turritella for Shell Offshore in the US Gulf of Mexico.
This FPSO, constructed by converting a crude tanker, will be installed for use in development at the Stones Oil Fields, an offshore oil field located 320 kilometers off the coast of Louisiana. The FPSO will be operated by Shell Offshore and is scheduled to enter into operation from 2016.
Once installed, the FPSO Turritella will be operating at the world’s deepest such offshore development site, covering a water depth of some 2,900 meters.
SBM Offshore, MC and NYK Line are also partners in other joint venture companies incorporated for the purpose of owning and operating FPSOs such as Cidade de Maricá and Cidade de Saquarema.