SBM Offshore and Technip Energies to breathe life into all-electric FPSO for TotalEnergies’ $10.5B oil project

TotalEnergies EP Suriname, a subsidiary of France’s energy giant TotalEnergies, has put the Netherlands-based SBM Offshore and the French engineering player Technip Energies in charge of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) for its new oil development project in Block 58 off the coast of Suriname.

Shortly after handpicking Scotland’s ADC Energy for the rig selection process related to its GranMorgu development in Suriname for which a final investment decision (FID) was made at the start of October 2024, TotalEnergies hired SBM Offshore to construct and install an FPSO for the project in partnership with Technip Energies.

The contract award, which follows the completion of front-end engineering and design studies for the oil project, will enable the joint expertise of Technip Energies and SBM Offshore to shape and bring to life the FPSO, which will be designed to eliminate routine flaring, in line with TotalEnergies objectives and the Dutch player’s goal related to delivering carbon efficient units.

Øivind Tangen, CEO of SBM Offshore, commented: “Extending our Fast4Ward value proposition to TotalEnergies supports our client’s fast-track development strategy for Block 58. This award demonstrates the strength of SBM’s cost-effective and low emission deepwater offering and calls on our proven track record in time-to-market. By entering Suriname, we are delivering on our strategy to advance our core and pioneer more.

“The award also highlights our partnerships capabilities. On this, I express my appreciation to TotalEnergies for this award and to the team at Technip Energies who share our commitment in making this project a success. Together, we’ll de-risk project execution and accelerate time to first oil.”

Under an operations and maintenance agreement, the Netherlands-based giant is expected to operate the FPSO, which will be the first large deepwater project development in Suriname with an expected production capacity of up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day and associated gas treatment capacity of up to 500 million cubic feet per day.

While confirming the FPSO award, Technip Energies explained the contract will bring above €1 billion in revenue, leveraging its expertise in engineering and modularization for the topsides and SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward hull while minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This FPSO will include an all-electric drive FPSO configuration, with zero routine flaring and full reinjection of associated gas into the reservoirs.

Aside from optimized power usage to be included with waste heat recovery units and optimized water cooling for improved efficiency, a permanent methane detection and monitoring system will be installed relying on a network of sensors. The unit will be spread moored in a water depth of about 400 meters and able to store around 2 million barrels of crude oil.

The first oil from the GranMorgu project is currently anticipated in 2028. This is the first development within Block 58, around 150 kilometers off Suriname’s coast, which will develop the Sapakara and Krabdagu oil discoveries with recoverable reserves estimated at over 750 million barrels in water depths between 100 and 1,000 meters.

Marco Villa, Chief Business Officer of Technip Energies, underlined: “By utilizing our modularization expertise, we will design the topsides of this all-electric drive FPSO and oversee the fabrication process in collaboration with our partner. This award highlights Technip Energies’ established capability to incorporate technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in any type of industrial installation.”

While TotalEnergies is the project’s operator with a 50% interest in Block 58, alongside APA Corporation, Staatsolie recently announced its intention to exercise the option to join the development project with up to 20% interest. The current market prices put the GranMorgu development cost at around $10.5 billion.

SBM Offshore has been a busy bee lately, which enabled it to hold a steel strike ceremony for an FPSO, destined to work on ExxonMobil’s sixth oil development offshore Guyana just days after the U.S. oil major assumed ownership of another FPSO working on its third oil project on the Stabroek block.