SBM Offshore of the Netherlands Reaches Cumulative Total of 13 Floating Production Vessel Hull Orders

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 26, SBM Offshore, a Dutch offshore energy engineering company, disclosed the latest project overview of its Fast4Ward standardized hull construction program. The program has cumulatively ordered 13 floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) hulls, of which 8 have been put into operation or delivered to projects under construction, and the other 5 are under construction at three shipyards. The hulls concerned have been used for deepwater oil and gas development projects in Guyana, Brazil and Suriname, with Chinese shipyards undertaking the hull construction tasks for the program.

The Fast4Ward program began in August 2017, when SBM Offshore ordered the first generic hull from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding in China, which was subsequently used for the "Liza Unity" FPSO of the Liza Phase 2 development project in Guyana. The unit achieved first oil on February 11, 2022, with a design crude oil production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day, a natural gas processing capacity of 400 million cubic feet per day, and a crude oil storage capacity of approximately 2 million barrels. The hull adopts a standardized design and is then equipped with topside oil and gas processing modules according to the production requirements of specific oil fields.

Hull orders subsequently entered multiple deepwater oil and gas projects in South America. The first 6 hulls were used for the three FPSOs Liza Unity, Prosperity and ONE GUYANA in Guyana, as well as the three FPSOs Sepetiba, Almirante Tamandaré and Alexandre de Gusmão in Brazil. The 7th hull was allocated to the Whiptail development project in Guyana, planned for the Jaguar FPSO, with a target of achieving first oil in 2027; the 8th hull is for the GranMorgu project in Suriname, with a target of starting production in 2028.

In May 2026, SBM Offshore was awarded two FPSO contracts, SEAP-I and SEAP-II, by Petrobras of Brazil, equipped with the 11th and 12th standardized hulls respectively. Both units have a design crude oil production capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, are scheduled for delivery in 2031 and 2030 respectively, and are equipped with associated gas processing and export facilities. Another hull was allocated to the Longtail project in Guyana, where the proposed FPSO has a design natural gas processing capacity of 1.2 billion cubic feet per day and a condensate production capacity of 250,000 barrels per day, and the subsequent construction of the project remains subject to a final investment decision and relevant approvals.

On June 29, SBM Offshore signed a construction contract for the 13th hull with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd. The hull is of the MPF7 type and is also the 7th generic hull of the same series undertaken by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, with a design crude oil storage capacity of up to 2.3 million barrels and accommodation for up to 240 personnel. On August 6, SBM Offshore confirmed in its half-year results announcement that 5 of the cumulative 13 hulls are still under construction, of which 3 already have corresponding development projects and the other 2 are used to support bids for potential customer projects.