Petrofac has placed orders for its newbuild deepwater construction ship due to enter service in 2017.

Contracts for the multi-purpose offshore construction ship equipped with J-Lay, S-Lay and heavy lift capability have been awarded by the company as part of its move toward bigger investment in the deepwater construction sector.

The newbuild derrick lay vessel dubbed Petrofac JSD 6000 is to be built by ZPMC in China, while Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime has been selected to provide all electrical and control systems, and IHC Caland in the UK to provide a 2,000 metric tonne J-lay tower.

Additionally National Oilwell Varco will supply a 5,000 mt revolving main crane, plus four deck cranes, and a 600 metric tonne S-lay tensioner along with pipe-handling hardware will be supplied by Italy’s Remacut.

Petrofac says the new vessel will allow it to access “...high-end turnkey opportunities in the high growth deepwater and SURF markets, and expand access to shallow water EPCI projects”.

Ayman Asfari, Petrofac’s chief executive, said the ship is a logical move for the company:
“With more than 30 years of designing, developing, building and operating fixed facilities, both onshore and offshore, and more than a decade in subsea field development and engineering, our move into the deepwater market is a natural progression.”

“The Petrofac JSD 6000 will give us the ability to access top tier EPCI opportunities with a best-in-class multi-purpose vessel,” added Yves Inbona, managing director of Petrofac’s Offshore Capital Projects business unit.

Construction of the ship will be based on a customised Ulstein SOC 5000 platform – also used for the design of the Seven Borealis and Aegir – developed by Dutch group Ulstein Sea of Solutions. The ship will be equipped with DP3 positioning, plus an eight point mooring providing accommodation for 399 personnel.

Offshore