Eni books Bourbon’s new vessel sextet for ops offshore Congo

July 28, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Eni Congo, a subsidiary of Italy’s energy giant Eni, has hired six vessels on a multi-year assignment from Bourbon, a French maritime services provider, to support operations at its fields off the coast of Congo.

Bourbon describes the five-year contract with Eni Congo for the renewal of its crewboat fleet as a strategic milestone to further reduce the emissions associated with the transport of offshore personnel. This assignment covers the charter of six new, latest-generation S200X-G2 units, scheduled to be commissioned progressively between June and December 2026.

The French player explains that six front runners will be temporarily mobilized, pending delivery, to ensure operational continuity from the start of the contract. The new series of units, said to be developed to meet Eni’s operational and environmental requirements, is based on the design of Surfers 200x-G delivered in 2024.

As a result, the new units are perceived to enable significant fuel savings in transit, estimated at 20% compared to the previous generation, thanks to an optimized hydrodynamic design and propulsion system, as well as the integration of a real-time energy performance monitoring system (EFMS) tailored to the vessel and built in during construction.

With 30 passenger seats with enhanced comfort, these 20-meter vessels sport 25 square meters of foredeck space for carrying small parcels and a redesigned navigation bridge with improved visibility and enhanced ergonomics for pilots.

François Leslé, CEO of Bourbon Mobility, commented: “This strategic contract confirms our ability to provide reliable, innovative and responsible marine solutions. With this new fleet, we are reinforcing our commitment to offshore mobility that is more sustainable, more efficient and perfectly aligned with the expectations of our major customers.”

WATCH: Another milestone crossed off Congolese FLNG project’s pre-startup list

Business Developments & Projects

These six new units will support Eni’s two floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) units offshore Congo, with reinforced operational support from Bourbon Congo. The Congo LNG project in the Marine XII block began exporting natural gas in February 2024 with the FLNG Tango, a unit with a capacity of 0.6 million tons per annum (mtpa).

This LNG project, currently producing 1 billion cubic meters (cbm) per year of LNG, is targeting the gas resources at the Nenè and Litchendjili fields. The second phase of the project, which includes another FLNG unit under construction, is set to come online at the end of 2025, boosting annual production to 4.5 billion cbm.