Keppel Secures FPSO Conversion Project With SBM Offshore

SBM Offshore has awarded Keppel Offshore & Marine affiliate, Keppel Shipyard, an FPSO conversion contract.

The contract covers the conversion of a very large crude carrier into an FPSO unit, which upon completion, will be deployed to the Liza Field, located about 193 km (119 miles) offshore Guyana in the Stabroek Block.

Keppel Shipyard’s tasks includes refurbishment and life extension works, such as the upgrading of living quarters, fabrication and installation of spread mooring systems as well as the installation and integration of topside modules.

The converted FPSO unit will have a storage capacity of 1.6 MMbbl of crude oil with a production capability up to 120,000 bbl/d of oil. The vessel will have a gas treatment capacity of about 170 MMscf/d as well as a water injection capacity of about 200,000 bbl/d of water.

FPSO Vessel For Premier Oil’s Catcher Field Arrives

The Catcher FPSO vessel has arrived in the Cromarty Firth to work on Premier Oil’s Catcher Field.

The vessel left the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore in August and has begun a seven-year fixed-term contract in the U.K. North Sea.

The FPSO vessel, owned by Norway-based BW Offshore AS, could be used for 18 years on the field.

The FPSO vessel was built in Japan and converted for use in the North Sea in Singapore.

It can process up to 60,000 bbl/d of oil and store 650,000 bbl. It has a design life of 20 years of uninterrupted operations. BW Offshore was awarded the front-end engineering study in 2012.

The Catcher development covers three fields—Catcher, Burgman and Varadero—160 km (100 miles) east of Aberdeen. The asset is thought to contain about 96 MMbbl of oil.

Premier Oil Plc has a 50% stake, alongside Cairn Energy Plc and Mol Group (20% each) and Dyas (10%).

When fully complete, the $1.5 billion development will comprise 20 subsea wells that will be tied back to the FPSO vessel.

Premier, EnCore, Wintershall Holding GmbH, Nautical Petroleum and Agora Oil &Gas AS announced their Catcher discovery in June 2010, when it was thought the central North Sea field may contain up to 300 MMbbl of oil.

—Staff Reports

Offshore