LNG

McDermott International, the US LNG and energy engineering company, said it sent out the second shipment of topside modules for a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for Japan’s MODEC Inc to operate for oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

The departure comes just weeks after the first shipment of modules sailed away from McDermott's Altamira fabrication facility located in Mexico,, near the Altamira LNG import terminal.

The FPSO will be located in the Area 1 block, approximately six miles (10 kilometres) off the coast of Mexico in the shallow waters of the Campeche Bay at a water depth of approximately 105 feet (32 metres).

“Our MODEC project fabrication team at McDermott's Altamira Fabrication Yard continues to deliver for our customer with this latest shipment of modules," said Mark Coscio, Senior Vice President of Mcdermott for North, Central and South America.

“Our strong, local team remains focused on safety and execution excellence as we work to complete the modules needed for the EPCI fixed platform,” he explained.

The MODEC project scope of work consists of five FPSO topside modules, which will be delivered to the client in two shipments.

This second shipment includes modules that will provide inlet separators, oil separation, a flare KO Drum and sand clean-up materials for the FPSO.

The modules will travel from McDermott's Altamira fabrication facility to Singapore where integration will be performed at the Dyna-Mac Fabrication Yard.

MODEC is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, mobilization, installation and operation of the FPSO, including topsides processing equipment as well as hull and marine systems.

SOFEC, Inc., a MODEC group company, will design and supply the disconnectable tower yoke mooring system of the FPSO.

The FPSO will be capable of processing 90,000 barrels of crude oil per day, 75 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, 120,000 barrels of water injection per day and have a storage capacity of 900,000 barrels of crude.

The first oil and natural gas production by the FPSO is planned for 2021.

Mexican state oil and gas company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) narrowed losses to the equivalent of $2 billion in the second quarter as US pipeline natural gas and LNG imports helped keep power sources at peak capacity. The losses were an improvement on the huge 562 billion pesos ($25Bln) loss registered in the previous quarter for foreign exchange reasons and the collapse of oil prices.

Infraestructura Energetica Nova (IEnova), the Mexican subsidiary of Sempra Energy of the US, maintained earnings level because of the South Texas-Tuxpan natural gas pipeline as its Costa Azul LNG project was pushed back.

Italian energy company Eni, which has growing LNG stakes in nations such as Mozambique in southeast Africa, has signed an agreement to enable Qatar Petroleum to acquire 35 percent of its participating interest in its Area 1 block offshore Mexico.