LNG

Seatrium of Singapore, the shipyard engineering company with continuing liquefied natural gas project successes, reported a three-fold increase in annual revenues underpinned by LNG vessel deliveries to Greece and West Africa.

Woodside Energy, the leading liquefied natural gas operator in Western Australia, said the “Léopold Sédar Senghor” floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit had safely arrived off the West African state of Senegal for a key oil project.

“This is a significant step toward achieving first production from the Sangomar oil field which is targeted for mid-2024,” said Woodside.

The FPSO’s delivery for the Sangomar oil venture follows the arrival of an FLNG production vessel in November 2023 for a separate project run by UK major BP that will also benefit Senegal as well as its neighbour Mauritania.

Oil output nearer

The Perth-based company said that the arrival of the FPSO, named after the first President of Senegal, from Singapore to its final destination, located 100 kilometres (62 miles) offshore the Sengalese capital Dakar, marked the start of the next phase of the project.

Woodside will now help oversee the commissioning of the FPSO and the hooking up to the 23 production, gas and water injection wells that make up the Sangomar Field Development Phase 1.

Woodside Chief Executive Meg O’Neill said the Sangomar project was advancing to the company’s satisfaction.

“The FPSO arrival brings us closer to first production,” said O’Neill.

“We are proud to be Senegal’s first offshore oil project operator and firmly believe that this project will prove to be important to Senegal’s future development and prosperity,” O’Neill stated.

“In addition to developing Senegal’s energy resources, we have already begun working with the Government of Senegal, local businesses and communities to develop programs that create business opportunities, build local capabilities, foster employment opportunities, and bring broad economic benefits as a result of our operations,” O’Neill explained.

The Woodside CEO also praised the role of the Société des Pétroles du Sénégal (Petrosen),  the national oil and gas company, as a contracting partner in the venture.

The Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 includes the stand-alone FPSO with subsea infrastructure and an expected production capacity of around 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

LNG developments

Senegal is also separately involved in floating LNG joint ventures being developed by BP and Kosmos Energy along with the governments of Senegal and Mauritania in the offshore Greater Tortue Ahmeyim natural gas fields.

Seatrium Group of Singapore converted and delivered an LNG floating production vessel, the “Gimi FLNG”, to be stationed at a nearshore hub located on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border, and is expected to begin production in 2024 as part of the first phase of the FLNG venture.

The “Gimi FLNG” was converted by Seatrium in a project in partnership with Norway’s Golar LNG from a 1975-built Moss LNG carrier with a storage capacity of 125,000 cubic metres.

It is designed for 20 years of operations on-site without dry docking, with a liquefaction capacity of 2.7 million tonnes per annum and is contracted to operate near shore in 30 metres of water depth.

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.

Dec 4 (LNGJ) - BrasFELS Shipyard, located in the southwest of Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil and part of the Singapore-based Seatrium Group, has secured a contract from a subsidiary of Japan’s MODEC to undertake parts of the topside modules fabrication of a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit for the Raia natural gas project in Brazil, operated by Norway’s Equinor on behalf of a consortium. The Raia project comprises the development of a pre-salt gas and condensate field in the Campos Basin, located about 200 kilometres (124 miles) offshore the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro to produce mainly gas but also some oil.

   “We are pleased to partner with MODEC on yet another FPSO topside modules fabrication project, affirming Seatrium’s position as a leading global player in FPSO newbuilds and conversions,” said Marlin Khiew, Executive Vice President of Oil & Gas (Americas) at Seatrium. “Over the years, we have leveraged our deep engineering expertise, international yard footprint and strong track record to deliver over 260 Floating Production Units and FPSO conversions and newbuilds, solidifying our market leadership in this product segment,” Khiew added.

Seatrium Group of Singapore, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, has made the successful delivery and hand-over of the Greek “FSRU Alexandroupoli” to be deployed offshore northeast Greece as part of a Balkans LNG supply hub.