Forsys Subsea Lines Up for First EPCI Award in 2016

Forsys Subsea, a 50/50 joint venture between FMC Technologies and Technip, has been awarded its first two integrated front end engineering studies.

The two contract awards were announced last week by John Gremp, Chairman and CEO of FMC Technologies, during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

According to Douglas J. Pferdehirt, FMC chief operating officer, the two projects are with very different characteristics. Namely, the first one is for an independent operator, and it is a greenfield approach, which is at the concept stage. The other example was for an IOC, a partner, and in this case a brownfield application, a field that’s going to tie back to an existing host.

London-based Forsys Subsea was launched in June this year, and back then its parent companies said they expected first commercial studies to occur in 2015 and that the resulting EPCI award could happen as early as next year.

“The commitment from these operators gives us further confidence that our alliance with Technip will be awarded an integrated EPCI contract in 2016,” said Gremp in a conference call.

“Forsys Methodology”

According to its parent companies, Forsys Subsea aims to reduce the interfaces of the subsea umbilical, riser and flowline systems (SURF) and subsea production and processing systems (SPS). It should also simplify the seabed layout, thereby reducing complexity, accelerating time to first oil, and enabling higher sustainable field production. This combination should drive a new, step-change approach to how equipment designs and installation methods converge in a new generation of subsea architecture.

Commenting on the two contracts during the earnings call Q&A session, Gremp said: “One of the things that we’ve found of particular interest was that those projects that had not been started in terms of concept design and had maybe been sort of shelved in terms of project economics, were the ones that the operators seemed to have the most interest in applying the “Forsys methodology” and the two feed studies we received the awards, for both fit into that category. These are projects that may or may not have actually been able to go forward had it not been for this different approach.”

Pferdehirt gave a little bit more color to so-called “Forsys methodology”: “Most importantly it’s removing components, actual hardware from the subsea field design, by working together early with the SURF provider, with Technip, to be able to look at ways that we can streamline the interfaces between the umbilical risers and flowlines and our traditional subsea production system, thus physically removing and permanently lowering the cost of subsea field developments.”

“The introduction of new technology will come over time, just to remind everyone the actual relationship is just slightly over a 120 days old, and we have a robust plan for the development of new technology but what we’re seeing right now is actual savings from the physical removal of interfaces or streamlining of interfaces and then the streamlining of the actual installation of the subsea field.”

New Contracts

Since its launch, the initial focus of Forsys Subsea was to engage with customers to identify projects that could benefit from this new approach to subsea field design.

With subsea operators increasingly exploring for ways to improve returns from their subsea fields, the alliance looks optimistic about Forsys Subsea’s future contract awards.

“Success breads success and i think these feed studies, as we demonstrate that we can deliver these savings as they become EPCI contracts and we execute these savings, that will create a momentum that should only increase the number of project that are using this approach going forward,” said Gremp.