SBM Offshore orders seventh Fast4Ward FPSO hull in China
Standardised hull from Shanghai Waigaoqiao adds to SBM’s drive to derisk floater delivery
SBM Offshore has signed a contract for its seventh generic Fast4Ward hull, ordering the unit from China's Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) and China Shipbuilding Trading (CSTC), both subsidiaries of state-owned CSSC. The vessel, designated MPF7, is the 13th multi-purpose floater hull SBM has ordered to date and the seventh FPSO hull SWS has built for the company.
The Fast4Ward design is SBM's standardised, reusable FPSO hull, offering crude storage capacity of up to 2.3 million barrels and accommodation for as many as 240 people. The company says the hull can be adapted to a wide range of sea conditions and carries the optimisations of its predecessors, with further improvements aimed at environmental performance, safety and crew comfort while meeting stringent international offshore standards.
Chief executive Oivind Tangen said the award reflected a robust market outlook and underlined the value of SBM's standardisation strategy and long-term shipyard partnerships, which he said derisk execution and improve quality and productivity on each project. SWS chairman Chen Gang pointed to the enduring partnership between the two companies and a shared commitment to high standards of quality, safety and environmental protection.
SBM, which employs more than 8,000 people, builds its business around long-term, asset-backed contracts designed to deliver high-availability floating production units and predictable cash flows. The repeat order deepens its reliance on standardised hulls to keep pace with demand for new FPSOs.
