The first major FPSO-subsea development in Suriname has started with major contracts awarded with three of the largest companies in the booming sector
TotalEnergies has kicked off its giant deepwater oil development in Suriname that will introduce another oil export offshore terminal in South America.
The French oil major has contracted a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel and the subsea network installation for the GranMorgu project, which it expects to come onstream in 2028.
GranMorgu will be made up of a nexus of subsea umbilicals, risers, flowlines and wells tied into an FPSO as part of the first development within Block 58, around 150 km offshore Suriname
SBM Offshore has been contracted to construct, install, operate and manage this FPSO, which will be spread moored in water depth of about 400 m. This vessel will be able to store around 2M barrels of crude oil and have an expected production capacity of up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day and associated gas treatment capacity of up to 500M m3 per day.
This contract follows the completion of front-end engineering and design studies, and the final investment decision on the project.
SBM said the FPSO will be sourced from its Fast4Ward programme of pre-ordering shipyard slots for speedy delivery and will be all-electric driven and designed to eliminate routine flaring to reduce its environmental impact.
“By entering Suriname, we are delivering on our strategy to advance our core and pioneer more,” said SBM Offshore chief executive Øivind Tangen, “Extending Fast4Ward to TotalEnergies supports our client’s fast-track development strategy for Block 58. We will derisk project execution and accelerate time to first oil.”
Saipem won a US$1.9Bn contract as the main contractor for the subsea development of the GranMorgu project. The Milan, Italy-headquartered company is responsible for engineering, procurement, supply, construction, installation and precommissioning of this subsea network and will help with the commissioning and start-up. This covers subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (Surf).
It will install around 100 km of 10-12 inch subsea production flowlines, 90 km of water and gas injection lines and supporting equipment, and umbilicals in water depths ranging from 100 m to 1,100 m in the central area of the block during 2027 and 2028. Saipem said it will deploy a combination of S-Lay and J-Lay vessels, providing the optimal pipeline installation solution.
TechnipFMC has won a contract worth more than US$1Bn covering the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the umbilicals, flexible jumpers, and flexible risers, plus the subsea well trees, manifolds, connectors and related topside control equipment.
Saipem said it will execute the project in co-operation with TechnipFMC to optimise the integration between the mutual scopes of work. This is under an alliance the two companies set up in 2021 to pursue subsea projects including integrated Surf and subsea production system developments.
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