Last month SBM Offshore’s first completed Fast4Ward hull arrived at the Keppel yard in Singapore after a 2,300-nautical mi (4,260-km) journey from the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and Offshore Co. (SWS) yard in China.
This is the company’s first generic hull, the Multi-Purpose Floater (MPF1). The hull’s arrival represents a milestone on the company’s path to deliver its first standardized FPSO.
Development of a standardized FPSO began in 2014. In May 2016, the company launched Fast4Ward, a concept based on a newbuild, multi-purpose hull combined with several standardized topsides modules. This solution is said to provide for lower cost, faster schedule with greater predictability in terms of deliverability. It is also said to speed FPSO delivery by up to 12 months, with improved quality and productivity, and a higher degree of safety.
Fast4Ward is a standard and versatile FPSO design that fits a wide market, the company said. It features an MPF and a topsides and mooring catalogue with about 70 standard modules. The MPF vessel outline specification is based on the company’s Group Technical Standards, which are said to be the only FPSO specific standards in the industry. The newbuild hull features a 30-year design life, up to 2.3 MMbbl of storage, production capacity of up to 250,000 b/d of oil, and is suitable for internal, external turret or spread mooring configurations. It also has 13% more deck space compared to a VLCC, which can accommodate for up to 50,000 tons of operating topsides.
Both Bureau Veritas and ABS have given basic design approval.
The company ordered the MPF1 hull on speculation with SWS in July 2017, followed by several months of detailed engineering. First steel was cut in March 2018, and the hull was completed in less than two years.
The MPF1 hull was allocated to the FPSO Liza Unity for the ExxonMobil-operated Liza Phase 2 project offshore Guyana. The FPSO is designed to produce 220,000 b/d of oil, to have associated gas treatment capacity of 400 MMcf/d, and water injection capacity of 250,000 b/d. The vessel will be spread moored in water depth of about 1,600 m (5,249 ft) and will be able to store around 2 MMbbl of crude oil. Liza Phase 2 is expected to start up in mid-2022.
The company currently has four more hulls in the construction phase at the SWS and China Merchants Industry Holdings (CMIH) yards in China. According to Bernard van Leggelo, managing director of SBM Offshore, building five FPSO hulls simultaneously “has never been done before.”
Offshore recently visited both shipyards to see the different phases of the Fast4Ward program.
The MPF2 is under construction at SWS. The company ordered the hull in November 2018 without a firm EPC contract but based on the continuing positive industry outlook. This hull has been allocated for the ExxonMobil-operated Payara field development offshore Guyana. The FPSO, to be named Prosperity, will use a design that largely replicates the design of the FPSO Liza Unity. The FPSO will be designed to produce 220,000 b/d of oil, will have associated gas treatment capacity of 400 MMcf/d and water injection capacity of 250,000 b/d. It will be spread moored in water depth of about 1,900 m (6,234 ft) and will be able to store around 2 MMbbl of crude oil. Subject to government approvals and project sanction by the partners, Payara could begin production in 2023.
At the CMIH yard, first steel was cut for the third MPF (MPFA) in July 2019. This has been allocated for the second phase of Petrobras’ Mero project in the Libra block in the presalt Santos basin offshore Brazil. The FPSO Sepetiba will be designed to produce 180,000 b/d of oil, with water injection capacity of 250,000 b/d, associated gas treatment of 12 MMcm/d, and a minimum crude storage capacity of 1.4 MMbbl. Total weight of the topsides modules is expected to be around 33,000 tons. The FPSO will be spread moored in 2,000 m (6,562 ft) water depth. Delivery is due in 2022.
Last December, the company ordered two more hulls. The fourth MPF will be built at SWS and the fifth at CMIH.
CEO Bruno Chabas said: “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.” •
