Waigaoqiao delivers FPSO hull

The Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding delivered the hull of the nation’s biggest floating production, storage and offloading vessel to ConocoPhillips China.

The 300,000 DWT vessel is valued at $230 million, is not only the largest of its type but also the most expensive ship China has ever built. The newbuilding, named Hai Yang Shi You 117, is among the largest of its type in the world. “The ship uses the most advanced technologies in the world and is the first in China with its own intellectual property right,” said Wang Qi, assistant to the president of the Shanghai shipyard. “Its timely delivery marks Waigaoqiao becoming a qualified subcontractor in the global offshore engineering industry.”

The new FPSO vessel will be used at China’s largest offshore oil field, Peng Lai 19-3, located in Bohai Bay in the northeast of the country. The vessel is 323 metres long and 63 metres wide. The depth of the hull is 32.5 metres.

“The vessel will next be towed to Singapore, where the FPSO topside modules are being fabricated,” said J.D. McColgin, president of ConocoPhillips Asia Pacific. “Once the modules are installed on the deck and integrated with the hull, they will be commissioned prior to the vessel’s return to China in mid-2008.”

Waigaoqiao expects the construction of FPSO vessels to further boost the country’s shipbuilding industry.