Energy News June 2007

Strong FPSO Market: ABS Classing Major Conversions and Newbuilds

Orders for floating production systems are the strongest in a decade. Industry analysts say 39 production floaters have been ordered over the past 12 months. ABS is currently contract to class 13 of these 39 units under construction either as newbuilds or conversions from tankers.

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The ABS classed Tui FPSO is part of New Zealand's first stand alone offshore oil development project.

Tui FPSO Facts

The Tui FPSO can receive up to approximately 120,000 barrels oil per day with storage capacity in excess of 700,000 barrels.
Classification notation XA1 Floating Production Storage and Offloading Unit

ABS has a 43 percent share of the 118 FPSOs currently in-service around the world.

Of the ABS-classed units under construction, the majority are destined for the “Golden Triangle” regions of Brazil, West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico. However, the orderbook also includes two for New Zealand and one for the Northwest Shelf of Australia.

Classification of a FPSO includes review of the hull structure, topsides, processing equipment, mooring systems, utility and safety systems as well as accommodations and the offloading systems.

West Africa
Three ABS classed tanker conversions will serve as FPSOs offshore Angola: the Mondo Kizomba C, Saxi/Batuque Kizomba C and Gimboa. The newbuild Agbami FPSO is destined for offshore Nigeria.

Australia
In Australia BHP Billiton’s Stybarrow newbuild FPSO will be capable of receiving up to 80,000 barrels per day of oil and storing approximately 900,000 bbl of oil. One of the features of this FPSO is its disconnectable internal turret mooring system from MODEC which will have 12 risers and umbilicals that will be installed in 2,706 ft (825 m) of water. (Read related news from ABS in March 2007 Offshore Magazine, “Are Deepwater, Hurricane-Prone Environments the Next Frontier for FPSOs” in which disconnect versus dynamic positioning of FPSOs is discussed.)

New Zealand
Prosafe Production Pte Ltd contracted with ABS for its Tui FPSO and Horizon Oil and its consortium for their Maari FPSO.

Brazil
A total of six FPSOs for oil and gas majors Petrobas, Chevron and Shell are under construction for offshore Brazil. They are: the Gulfinho 1 and 2, Opportunity Gas and Opportunity Oil (Petrobras), Frade FPSO (Chevron) and the BC-10 FPSO (Shell).

The demand for floating production will continue over the next several years as the International Maritime Associates, Inc. report on Floating Production Systems (March 2007) says the majority of new projects, some 109, are considering floating units as the method of field development choice. Orders are estimated to top capital expenditures of more than $50 billion.