SBM Offshore Books Two More FPSO Hulls in China

Amsterdam-based oil and gas specialist SBM Offshore has returned to Chinese shipbuilders for two additional next-generation FPSO hulls.

The latest two contracts bring the company’s FPSO newbuilding tally to five hulls under its  Fast4Ward® purchase program.

The construction of the multipurpose hulls was agreed with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and Offshore Co. (SWS) and China Merchants Industry Holdings (CMIH). The two yards are building SBM Offshore’s first three hulls which are already allocated to projects.

“We continue to have good visibility on new awards from active client engagements. This has given the company the comfort to accelerate the program and commit to two additional Fast4Ward® hulls. The company is currently constructing five hulls simultaneously, a fact which underscores the fundamentals of our market and SBM Offshore’s competitive position,” Bruno Chabas, CEO of SBM Offshore, said.

Under the Fast4Ward program, SBM Offshore aims to standardize the design and execution of projects, creating an FPSO hull design that fits a wide market but having at the same time the flexibility to be tailored to the specific needs of a project.

Some of the key features of the FPSO design include:

•  30-year design life
• + 13% deck space compared to VLCC and 30% more topsides footprint overall with continuous
  pancake architecture – to accommodate up to ~ 50,000 tonnes of operating topsides (subject to field specifics) and future tie-backs
  •Up to 2.3 million barrels storage

The company believes that the design standardization will provide significant savings in the supply chain and construction phases, resulting in cuts in delivery time as well.