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Global market forecastGlobal market forecastGlobal market forecastGlobal market forecast 100% 90% 34% 34% 34% 80% 45% 45% 45% 45% 21% 21% 21% 70%

An overview of the FPS leasing market:

Growth and changes

By Damilola Odufuwa, Major leasing contractors

Murphy Oil has revealed plans to termi-

The top three contractors in the leas- nate the contract for the unit from May 1,

Douglas-Westwood ing market are SBM Offshore NV, BW 2014, due to severe reservoir problems on he leasing of ? oating production Offshore Ltd., and MODEC International its Azurite Marine ? eld in West Africa. system (FPS) units is one of the LLC (Fig. 1). Collectively, these contrac- Nonetheless, BW Offshore has recently

T main factors affecting the sector’s tors account for 38% of the leased ? eet, a bounced back from its Q3 loss last year supply. Over time, con? dence in the 3% rise from last year. Netherlands-based and looks to expand its ? eet and extend ability of leasing contractors to deliver SBM Offshore is the largest FPS leasing its existing contracts.

and operate facilities cost-effectively has company with 17 units. Most of SBM’s Japan’s MODEC is also poised for sig- increased, and the past decade has seen operational units are in Africa and Latin ni? cant growth over the near term. The strong growth in the market for leased America – predominantly in the ? elds company has 11 units on contract, and

FPSs. Chartered vessels have been used of Petrobras. The Brazilian company two others under construction, which are to develop ? elds across a range of water operates more leased FPS units than expected to begin production by 2016. depths worldwide. any other operator, with only one of the The company is currently focused on

Economic factors which affect the deci- company’s 20 contracted units located three geographic areas: Australia, Brazil sions to lease FPS units are: outside Brazil. and the Ivory Coast. Of the three leasing

Application Norway’s BW Offshore has 14 leased contractors, MODEC operates the most •

Expected ? eld life units on contract globally for a variety units in Australasia.

•

Anticipated production rates of operators. Of the 14 units, ? ve are in Overall, the utilization rate of the •

Vessel day rates West Africa and six in Latin America. leased ? eet currently stands at 87%, •

The decision to lease an FPS unit can be This highlights the signi? cance of these with much of the spare capacity being seen as a trade-off between delivered by single-unit providers

Fig. 1: Major leasing contractors the low capital expenditure who may ? nd it more dif? cult to (capex) and the increased secure new contracts than larger

SBM O