Keppel clinches Marathon FPSO conversion

Keppel Shipyard, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation Ltd, has secured a FPSO hull conversion contract worth $51million from Marathon Petroleum Company (Norway.

The 87,000 dwt multi-purpose shuttle tanker Odin arrived at Keppel Shipyard for the fast track hull conversion on 19 March. Odin will undergo hull upgrading and modification works which involve procurement, construction and installation of the FPSO hull equipment, including shipboard marine systems, cargo, ballast, inert gas, crude oil washing, fire fighting and electrical and instrumentation. The contract also entails the fabrication and installation of topside module support structures, green water protection, modification of the mid-ship moon pool into a cargo tank, turret cone/support structures and caissons for seawater lift pumps.

The vessel will be redelivered at the end of 2005 when it will be integrated with the processing facilities by Vetco Aibel, before deployment in the Alvheim field in the North Sea where the company expects to begin production during the first quarter of 2007. The partners of the Alvheim field are Marathon, ConocoPhillips AS and Lundin Norway AS.