WATCH: FPSO for Australia’s $3.6B project closing in on first gas as naming ceremony wraps up

Norway’s BW Offshore has held a naming ceremony for its newbuild floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is on track to start work at a giant field off the coast of Australia in 2025.

When Saturday morning dawned on February 15, Seatrium celebrated the naming ceremony for the FPSO BW Opal at its flagship mega yard, Tuas Boulevard Yard, in Singapore. Since the hull’s arrival in November 2023, around 43,000 tons of topside modules got integrated to stay on track for ahead-of-schedule delivery of the vessel to Santos and enable the start-up of the Barossa gas project offshore Australia.

“The BW Opal will be a valuable asset as we build momentum in this critical project. This milestone showcases our strong partnership with BW Offshore and Santos Ltd, representing a significant achievement in offshore energy innovation,” highlighted the Singapore-based player.

BW Opal is said to be one of the industry’s largest FPSOs, measuring 358 meters in length and 64 meters in width. Once in place at the Barossa field, the vessel will have a gas handling capacity of 850 million standard cubic feet per day and a design capacity of 11,000 barrels per day of stabilized condensate.

“A core focus of the BW Opal is sustainability. With sustainability at its core, it incorporates energy-efficient technologies that reduce CO₂ emissions, and its combined-cycle gas turbines with waste heat recovery cut energy consumption to maximise both efficiency and environmental performance,” explained Seatrium.

According to the gas project operator, Kevin Gallagher, Santos’ CEO, went to Singapore to attend the naming ceremony for the BW Opal, described as one of the world’s largest and most advanced FPSOs and a cornerstone of the Australian firm’s $3.6 billion Barossa development.

Gallagher was not alone at the ceremony, as he was joined by Keith Spence, Santos’ Chairman, and over 125 guests representing Santos, its joint venture partners, SK E&S and Jera, BW Offshore, and global government stakeholders.

“The Barossa gas project is important for jobs, exports and relationships with investors and gas customers in the Asia Pacific region, who have depended on Santos and Australia for their energy security for decades,” emphasized Santos.

BW Offshore secured a contract in March 2021 for the construction, connection, and operation of an FPSO destined for the Barossa field. The final investment decision (FID) for the project, which followed the award, kick-started a $600 million investment in the Darwin LNG life extension and pipeline tie-in projects.

Dyna-Mac was selected to build the topside modules for the Australian development project, encompassing an FPSO unit, subsea production wells, supporting subsea infrastructure, and a gas export pipeline tied into the existing Bayu-Undan to Darwin LNG pipeline to extend the facility life for around 20 years.

The Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) to deliver gas from the field to Darwin LNG was recently completed, with construction activities for the Darwin Pipeline Duplication also underway. The FPSO is anticipated to head to Australia in the first quarter of 2025 to enable the first gas from the project to be achieved in the third quarter of 2025.

Seatrium underscored: “With this achievement, we mark our 18th FPSO for BW Offshore, reaffirming our commitment to future collaborations that strengthen our client’s position as the leading FPSO specialist. Over the years, Seatrium has leveraged deep engineering expertise, a global yard footprint, and a proven track record to deliver over 260 floating production units (FPU) and FPSO conversions and newbuilds, solidifying our market leadership.

“Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to BW Offshore, Santos, valued partners, and contractors for remarkable teamwork and trust. We look forward to continuing our journey in offshore energy production and shaping sustainable solutions for the future of energy!”