Versatile SSCV booked for Shell’s $5B deepwater project off Nigeria

October 15, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

A semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) from the fleet of Bluewhale Offshore, a Singapore-headquartered offshore drilling contractor and service provider and member of CIMC Group, has been picked to work on a project offshore Nigeria being developed by the Nigerian subsidiary of the U.K.-based energy giant Shell.

SSCV Blue Gretha; Source: Bluewhale Offshore via LinkedIn

As reported by Bluewhale, the SSCV Blue Gretha secured an accommodation and heavy lift contract with the EPC provider for Nigeria’s Bonga North project. The $5 billion project, which is being developed by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), was greenlighted in December.

The service contract includes a firm period of 15 months plus optional periods. According to the Singaporean player, the contract was secured through joint efforts with OOS International.

Formerly known as Huadian Zhongji 01, Blue Gretha is being refurbished and prepared at Bluewhale’s shorebase, CIMC Raffles Shipyard, in Yantai. Equipped with two 1,800 MT Huisman cranes, the unit measures 81 meters in length and can accommodate 618 persons.

Having worked with Petrobras at oil fields in Brazil, as well as in China’s offshore wind sector, this versatile vessel is now poised to leverage its cross-sector expertise to deliver services for Shell’s Nigerian operations.

SNEPCo operates the Bonga field in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (20%) and Nigerian Agip Exploration (12.5%). TotalEnergies previously held a 12.5% stake in the field, which was purchased by SNEPCo in May.

In addition to Bonga, Shell is working on another project offshore Nigeria – the HI field. The U.K. giant and its partner Sunlink Energies and Resources announced a final investment decision (FID) for the project yesterday.