FPSO en route to Senegal’s first offshore oil development

The floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility destined for Woodside Energy’s Sangomar project, Senegal’s first offshore oil development, is on its way to its final destination.

MODEC announced that FPSO Léopold Sédar Senghor departed Singapore and commenced its voyage towards Senegal on December 22.

The FPSO, named after Senegal’s first president, is traveling 12,000 nautical miles from Singapore to its final destination, approximately 100 kilometers offshore Dakar.

The FPSO was previously a very large crude carrier (VLCC) and was converted by MODEC into a fit-for-purpose FPSO suitable for use in the Sangomar field in accordance with agreed specifications under an FPSO purchase contract entered into with Woodside. Over the last 12 months, MODEC was responsible for the topside integration and shipyard pre-commissioning work undertaken in Singapore.

“This has been a demanding project in terms of both technical and execution complexity. The challenges were compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, but we remained fully committed to safety and quality throughout the entire process, achieving over 21 million exposure hours without a lost time injury (LTI). Through teamwork among all stakeholders, and everyone’s dedication and hard work, we are proud to deliver an FPSO that will be a safe place to work for all,” said Soichi Ide, President and CEO of MODEC Offshore Production Systems (Singapore).

Moored in waters approximately 780 meters deep, the FPSO will be capable of processing 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, 145,000 barrels of water injection per day, and will have a minimum storage capacity of 1.3 million barrels of crude oil.

“We are targeting first oil from Sangomar in mid-2024. The FPSO sail away reaffirms Woodside’s commitment to Senegal and its future development and prosperity. Sangomar is Senegal’s first offshore oil development and we remain committed to working with the Government of Senegal and local communities to ensure that the benefits from our investments are felt broadly across the country,” said Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill.

“The successful and safe departure of the FPSO could not have been achieved without our strong relationship with PETROSEN and our contractors MODEC and Seatrium. Achieving this milestone having achieved 21 million exposure hours work on the FPSO without a lost time injury is an outstanding result and a credit to the contractor teams.”

Léopold Sédar Senghor is MODEC’s fifth FPSO to be delivered to West Africa. The company currently operates two FPSOs in the region, in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.