Babcock lands four-year contract to work on Catcher FPSO

UK-based Babcock has been awarded a four-year framework contract for brownfield fabrication and modification projects on the BW Catcher, a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel owned by FPSO provider BW Offshore. 

The scope of the contract includes engineering, onshore fabrication and offshore modifications on the Catcher FPSO, Babcock said on Wednesday.

BW Catcher is a newly deployed FPSO in the UK North Sea under contract with Premier Oil, which achieved first oil late in 2017. It has an oil storage capacity of 650,000 barrels, with a processing capacity of 60,000 barrels per day.

With a design life of 20 years without dry docking, it can be moored using a submerged turret production at an average water depth of 90 meters.

The Catcher field, made up of several fields discovered between 2010 and 2013, is located 170 kilometers south-east of Aberdeen.

Sean Donaldson, Babcock’s Managing Director of Energy and Marine, and the Rosyth site, said: “The framework contract taps into Babcock’s experience of supporting specialist maritime vessels from our Rosyth facility using our expert teams. BW Offshore is a company which we have had an enduring relationship with over the years and we are delighted to be supporting them with the Catcher FPSO.”

Rod MacLeod, BW Offshore’s Asset Manager for BW Catcher, added: “BW Offshore has a long-standing and successful relationship with Babcock, both in the UK and internationally, and we look forward to building on this foundation in the future.”