Dutch provider of floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units to the offshore oil and gas industry, SBM Offshore, has been selected by EDF Energies Nouvelles (EDF EN) to provide floating wind systems solution for a pilot project offshore France.
As a part of the French government’s turn towards the renewables sector, it was announced on November 4 that the government selected EDF EN’s proposal to construct the pilot wind farm for its Provence Grand Large project. The project will benefit from the Agence de L’Environnement et de La Maitrise de L’Energie (Environment and Energy Management Agency or ADEME) funding which is an integral part of the government’s new energy strategy.
SBM Offshore said on Thursday that it would provide EDF EN with proprietary floating systems solution for offshore wind turbines. If the project can achieve committed financing, SBM will sign a contract to include engineering, procurement, construction and installation services for three floating systems to be installed offshore France.
SBM’s work on renewables in France comes after the company said in August that workforce reduction within the company would amount to at least 650 positions worldwide over the course of 2016 as a result of the continued oil and gas market downturn.
The company said it would rely on its experience in the oil & gas industry which includes mooring solutions and the design, construction and installation of floating units, with over 283 cumulative years of experience operating them.
Apart from developing offshore, renewable energy technologies over the last ten years, SBM Offshore also collaborates with IFP Energies Nouvelles (IFPEN), the French Research Institute, on further development of floating systems and its engineering capabilities. IFPEN will provide engineering services to SBM Offshore for the Provence Grand Large project.
SBM Offshore is a provider of Turret and Mooring Systems (TMS) in the oil and gas industry and has supplied a large number of mooring systems to clients for almost 60 years.