Page 46: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2015)

OFFSHORE ENERGY

Maersk Per-

Majestic egrino FPSO

The FPSO off Brazil.

Fluminense

Photo: Oeyvind

Hagen Statoil (2003)

Photo: Sembcorp

Tall ship

Norne will be life-extended

Photo: Anne-Mette

Fjærli, Statoil

First Oil 2007:

The Modec-main- tained Stybarrow

Venture MV16

Photo: Modec eaten away steel plating. For a cost of could involve six months of prepping to four years of repairs can bring “six to overseas in the North Sea.

$500 million, 300 tons of replacement and front-loading. After that, it’s a proj- 10 years more production”. “It’s all data-gathering. It’s the basis steel was ordered to rebuild the weak- ect and not part of the ? eet.” Although, the bene? ts for the operator of life-extension,” says Anaturk, and ened hull, and lightly damaged areas For the Sendje Berge, one of BW Off- might be felt ? ve-years on, “Too often Beenan agrees. While the consensus were sandblasted. Though performed shore’s ? ve life-extended vessels, a re- one-year options are awarded in succes- among these men is that FPSOs in 2015, at sea, the Berge Helena life-extension newal survey in 2009 paved the way for sion (instead),” he says. This limits life- 2016 will mostly be leased due to re- showed the merit of BW’s approach of a four-year extension. In the extra time, extension potential and business value, duced CAPEX for operators, it is easy to continuing production while a project it produced 100 million barrels, so it was when assets appreciate due to work done. see life-extension gaining in popularity. team is assembled to head offshore. “At expensive to stop for access to tanks and With most FPSOs at 90 percent of their The price of very large crude carriers, this stage, (the life extension) becomes a for new four-person cabins, HVAC, new design or ? eld life, candidates for life- or VLCCs, is “sky-rocketing” and top- project,” and in the ensuing repairs and lifeboats, sewage, galley, a refurbished extension are growing, as new oil? eld sides average 30,000 tons. Then there’s modi? cations, existing vessel and pro- main boiler, a new emergency genera- value is pinned to modi? cations for new the preponderance of deep-water-only duction crews stay clear and perform no tor and central production controls. The well stream, new production phases, new new FPSOs whose numbers haven’t extra duties. Despite the apparent pro- Sendje Berge offshore project schedule tie-ins, tail-end production or increased grown. Openings exist for more deep- duction win-fall of this type of life-ex- continued of? oading for eight days, oil recovery (IRO, Norne). water work and for life-extension in tending operation, it has its critics, with while BW’s client tied in new wells If project specs can be made to mate the world’s more marginal mid-water some advocating staying in the yard for (RW). with the average FPSO, if asset-integrity oil? elds. For signs of strength, Anaturk life-extension modi? cations, or “where regimes can be made to start with a da- points to the strong lease market for low- the competence is”, in case something Data Collection tabase of vessel history (including inci- volume vessels.

goes wrong. Beenen disagrees: “This is While work done at the yard can be dent reports and breakdowns) then safe “(The FPSO market) will survive,” he offshore construction work. The execu- “$100 million to $200 million” (much of life-extension can be made safe late-life says, adding, “Sorry. I’m not that pessi- tion is different (than in operations). It it project management and parts), three and commissioning of the type Mr. Hox mistic, really.” 46 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • SEPTEMBER 2015

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