Offshore staff
SINGAPORE – Sembcorp Marine Ltd. has completed construction of the Vito FPU for Shell Offshore Inc.
The semisubmersible FPU was delivered to Shell on Dec. 27, 2021, and the platform departed Tuas Boulevard Yard for Singapore’s anchorage to prepare for loadout and its sailaway to the US Gulf of Mexico.
According to Sembcorp, this was the company’s first newbuild floating production unit.
The integration of Vito’s topsides structure with its hull was executed by a pair of goliath cranes with a combined lifting capacity of 30,000 metric tons (33,069 tons) and a 100-m (328-ft) hook height in Tuas Boulevard Yard. The company said the yard’s ability to perform this type of mega-block lifting enabled the Vito topsides and living quarters to be fabricated and assembled at ground level to minimize work-at-height risks, before integration with the four-column FPU hull in a single lift.
It added that the project was executed in compliance with health, safety and environment and sustainability standards, as well as stringent inspection processes by Shell, the Certified Verification Authority, and the US Coast Guard.
Located in the Mississippi Canyon area, the Vito development will consist of a semisubmersible host facility and eight subsea wells in about 4,000 ft (1,219 m) of water. Production is expected to start this year.
Sembcorp Marine is also building the Whale FPU for Shell.
According to Shell, the Whale FPU features a 99% replicated hull and an 80% replication of the topsides from its Vito project.
01/06/2022
