LNG

Woodside Energy, the Western Australian LNG plant operator with global oil and gas interests, expects to recognise non-cash, post-tax asset impairments amounting to around US$1.50 billion with US$1.20Bln related to the Shenzi asset, the deepwater oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico, and the remainder for Wheatstone LNG.

Seatrium of Singapore, a leader in LNG project and ship conversions as well as platforms for conventional oil and gas ventures, was awarded a contract by Shell Offshore to construct and integrate the hull, topsides and living quarters of the Sparta semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) to be deployed in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Seatrium’s Shell contract includes the installation of Shell-furnished equipment and follows a letter of intent signed by both parties in August 2023.

The Sparta FPU will be situated in the Garden Banks area of the US Gulf of Mexico, about 275 kilometres (171 miles) off the coast of Louisiana.

Seatrium said the platform would feature a single topside bolstered by a four-column, semi-submersible floating hull and would be designed to produce 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

LNG record

Seatrium, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, had previously in November 2023 successfully delivered the Greek “FSRU Alexandroupolis” to be deployed offshore northeast Greece as part of a Balkans LNG supply hub.

The Singaporean company also in November handed over the LNG production unit for the BP-led FLNG project offshore Senegal and Mauritanian in West Africa and also involving Dallas-based Kosmos Energy.

Analysts note that the combined Seatrium group is becoming better known in marketing terms as a single unit and provider of engineering solutions to the marine, offshore and energy sectors, particularly in assembling topsides safely and efficiently at ground level.

Seatrium said that the two-level topside for Sparta would be integrated and lifted to the hull using Seatrium’s Goliath twin cranes capable of lifting up to 30,000 tonnes.

“We are deeply honoured that Shell has awarded Sparta, the third FPU newbuild, to Seatrium, following the successful deliveries of the Vito and Whale FPUs,” said
William Gu, Executive Vice President and Head of Oil & Gas International at Seatrium.

Affirmation

“It is a strong affirmation of our team’s capabilities and the long-standing partnership between both parties. We are fully committed to executing the project well, including the single lift operation and fabrication of the FPU to meet its 20,000-psi design for use in harsh weather conditions, and delivering the unit to Shell safely and efficiently,” Gu explained.

Seatrium added that the Sparta FPU was conceived as a replicable project between Shell and Seatrium to leverage the group’s topsides single lift integration methodology, following the Vito and Whale newbuilds.

“With an extensive experience in complex offshore projects, Seatrium is well-positioned and equipped with cutting-edge technology to deliver high-quality engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) services for fixed and floating production platforms and subsea developments,” the company stated.

Inpex Corp., the Japanese operator of the Ichthys LNG export plant in Australian and with a stake in a large Indonesian liquefaction project, has acquired an additional portion of ExxonMobil’s Lucius and Hadrian North field stakes in the US Gulf of Mexico producing oil and natural gas.