First steel cut for SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward FPSO hull

Chinese shipyard Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) has started building another FPSO for SBM Offshore, making it the fourth Fast4Ward hull to be built by the shipyard for the Dutch operator.

SBM Offshore ordered the fourth Fast4Ward FPSO hull with an oil storage capacity of 2.3 million barrels of crude oil from SWS back in March 2021.

On 1 September Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, started building the fourth H1499 vessel of the Fast4Ward “universal” FPSO series for SBM in the Netherlands as planned.

The company’s production director Guo Changlin, safety director Wang Jincheng, deputy general manager of China State Shipbuilding Lai Lihua, French classification society and representatives of related departments attended the steel cutting ceremony.

The H1499 ship follows the “universal” hull design concept created by SBM and its basic plan is an FPSO with an oil storage capacity of 2.3 million barrels of crude oil.

The ship is designed and equipped with a multi-point mooring system, which can meet the marine environmental conditions in West Africa, South America and other regions, and is suitable for oil and gas development operations in multiple sea areas around the world.

According to SWS, the start of construction of the fourth vessel in this series shows that this type of vessel has a strong market appeal.

No details have been revealed regarding the expected delivery date for the hull. Offshore Energy has reached out to SBM, enquiring about the delivery date and whether the hull has been allocated to a project. A spokesperson for SBM confirmed the first steel had been cut but provided no further details.

The first Fast4Ward hull was allocated to the Liza Unity FPSO and the second one to the Liza Prosperity FPSO, both set to operate for ExxonMobil in Guyana. These two hulls have already been completed.

Keppel has already completed the topsides lifting campaign for Liza Unity and the hull for the Liza Prosperity FPSO arrived at the Keppel yard in Singapore in August 2021 for the integration of topside modules.

Back in July 2021, SWS launched the third Fast4Ward FPSO hull, the H1498, which is yet to be allocated to a project.

The third hull took 161 days, which was earlier than the second vessel in the series, and the docking was completed in 16 days.