Offshore staff
JOHOR, Malaysia -- Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE) Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of MISC Bhd., completed construction of its first deepwater FPSO at its yard in Pasir Gudang, Johor.
Converted from a very large crude carrier, theKikeh FPSO is the biggest vessel of this type to be built in Malaysia and has the largest external turret ever built for any FPSO worldwide, MMHE says. The vessel has 2 MMbbl storage capacity and will be able to process 120,000 b/d of oil, with an offloading rate of 37,500 bbl/hr. The FPSO will be moored on the Kikeh field in 1,320 m (4,331 ft) water depth 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Labuan Island. Kikeh is Malaysia's first deepwater discovery and the first field outside the Gulf of Mexico to be produced using a spar.
The completion of the FPSO by a local shipyard is a milestone for Malaysia and augurs well for the country's aspiration to position itself as an emerging regional center for engineering and construction of deepwater facilities, MMHE says.
To mark this achievement, a naming ceremony was held at the MMHE yard on March 30, 2007. Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohammed Hassan Marican, chairman of MISC and president/CEO of Petronas officially named the FPSO.
The vessel is owned and operated by Malaysian Deepwater Terminal Ltd., a joint venture between MISC and Single Buoy Moorings (SBM).Kikeh will be leased to Murphy Sabah Oil Co. Ltd. for an initial period of eight years with options for five three-year follow-on extensions. It is scheduled for operation by the middle of this year.
3/30/2007
