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Woodside orders two offshore tugs to support Mexican operations
The Australian energy company will increase its chartered fleet of offshore support tugs in Mexico when two newbuilds are constructed at a shipyard in the UAE
Woodside Energy has secured the services of two new tugs to support its deepwater oil and gas operations, including tanker loadings from a floating production system offshore Mexico.
The Australian energy group has contracted Chomex Marino to provide these two offshore support tugs (OSTs) under a long-term charter. Chomex has subsequently ordered their construction by Albwardy Damen Shipyard in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
This project started when Woodside tendered for a 15-year time-charter contract for two multipurpose offshore support vessels in the Gulf of Mexico.
Chomex, a longstanding partner of Netherlands-headquartered Damen Shipyards, submitted the Damen OST design, which went on to win the tender with Woodside. These two 67-m vessels will be built to Damen’s OST 120 design with a a beam of 18 m, dynamic positioning to DP2 class, a bollard pull of 120 tonnes and 250 m2 of free deck space.
They will be capable of safely handling mooring lines and cargo hoses, hose maintenance, tanker assistance during tandem offloading operations, deploying remotely operated vehicles, standby services, oil spill response and bulk cargo transfers.
“With a 100% Mexican crew on board these vessels, we look forward to seeing our new Damen OST 120-design vessels in operation, making a positive impact to the Mexican maritime industry,” says Chomex Marino general manager Fausto Correa.
Damen Shipyards manager for North America, Marnix Brouwer, said this order for OST 120 tugs "marks the introduction of a new class in offshore support." He anticipates rising demand for offshore support tugboats that have a wider set of capabilities.
Woodside is working with Mexican state energy company Pemex to develop the Trion deepwater oil field in the Perdido Fold Belt, at a water depth of 2,500 m, around 180 km off the Mexican coastline and 30 km south of the US/Mexico maritime border.
This project will involve a network of subsea infrastructure tied into a floating production storage and offloading facility with first oil scheduled for 2028, when loading tankers with crude oil is also expected to commence.
Mexican company Eseasa Offshore has won a contract to provide a shore base to supply the Trion project and support Woodside’s operations.
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