Daewoo builds Nigerian FPSO

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has won a $978 million order to build the world?s largest FPSO. The order was placed by Star Deep Water Petroleum, a Chevron Texaco subsidiary in Nigeria, and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The FPSO is destined for the multi-billion dollar Agbami field development project in Nigeria.

Nigeria?s premiere ship yard, Niger Dock, has obtained approval for the establishment of an export free zone around its Snake Island yard, while planning significant investment to enable the facility carry out full integration of FPSO topsides in Nigeria. While speaking at the signing ceremony, Jay Pryor, Managing Director of ChevronTexaco Nigeria and Mid-Africa Business unit, said the partners would use the execution of the project to showcase more of its core values including high local content development, safety, environmental stewardship and community engagement. “We are aware that many people regard Agbami as remarkable for its reserves. But we want the project execution to show that it has more to offer Nigeria and its other stakeholders than production figures,” said Pryor.

It is expected that 300,000 man-hours or 40% of the total man-hours that will be spent in constructing the vessel will be allocated to Nigerian companies, representing a major shift in execution of major Nigerian oil and gas contracts, especially in the deep offshore.

The partners have earmarked 7,000 tonnes of fabrication of the entire FPSO to be carried out in the country, compared to an average of between 500 and 1,500 tonnes in the previous deep offshore projects.