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EDITOR’S LETTER

Floating Gold trong growth. When, exactly, was the last time that you heard “strong growth” and offshore energy uttered in the same breath? That is exactly what you will ? nd in the ? oating produc- tion sector, which is covered in full in this ? rst 2020 edition of Offshore Engineer. William

S

Stoichevski, our reporting lead based in Oslo who has decades of offshore energy reporting experience, takes center stage this month with his “FPSOs: The New Business Model” report starting on page 32. William reports that there are 21 FPSOs on order, and unlike a year ago, these — and not ? oating lique? ed natural gas — are the real story. Driven by a decent price for oil, this buoyant market is kept strong by new players, new business models and the realization that FPSOs can cost less than new, jacketed oil? eld development.

The backbone of William’s ? oating production reporting comes courtesy of Jim McCaul of IMA/World Energy Reports, who “THE FPSO MARKET IS offers his own insightful numerical take on the business starting

BACK . . . REACHING on page 15. As you know, there are a plethora of “expert” analyti-

LEVELS THAT THE cal reports available today, and the number of “experts” seems to grow exponentially annually. I have known Jim, personally and

INDUSTRY HAD professionally, for nearly 30 years, and I can say unequivocally

PREVIOUSLY IN THE that you would be hard pressed to ? nd anyone, anywhere that

PERIOD 2010-2014.” follows the ? oating production market closer or longer, with data and analysis stretching back more than 40 years to 1978.

SÉVERINE BAUDIC

Adding personality and a face to our FPSO coverage is Eric Haun, courtesy of his interview with Séverine Baudic, SBM Offshore’s

SBM OFFSHORE

Managing Director for Floating Production Solutions, starting on page 19. Séverine discusses strategic initiatives and tech innovations helping the company to secure contracts for some of the world’s most complex deepwater projects. Central to this is SBM’s standardized Fast4Ward offering.

These are interesting times in the offshore energy sector, as a con? uence of geopolitical events – from trade wars to ‘green energy’ movements to pop-up global health scares (ie. coronavirus) – all conspire to make your jobs more challenging.

However, despite all the outside noise, real and manufactured, proven engineered solutions that help to deliver energy from the offshore environment – oil, gas and renewables – safely, ef? ciently and reliably remains the cornerstone of what you do, and what we report in Offshore Engineer.

Happy New Year to all! As we look to another busy and prosperous year, I welcome you to reach out if you have an insightful and interesting story to share.

Gregory R. Trauthwein

Editorial Director & Associate Publisher [email protected] t: +1.212.477.6700 • m: +1-516.810.7405

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 7