Brazil Will Lead World In Planned FPSO Units By 2022

Almost all of the 55 planned FPSO units expected to begin operations worldwide by 2022 will be in Central and South American waters, according to a new report by GlobalData.

Offshore Brazil will be the global leader in the category as home to 24 of the vessels, with one each operating in the Falkland Islands and Guyana. Nigeria will host three new vessels and Angola, four.

Not surprisingly, Brazil-based Petrobras will be the leading operator with 20 planned new vessels. Saipem SpA, Statoil ASA and Modec Inc. each plan to three new FPSO units in the forecast period.

In the other regions:

  • Asia: Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India have one planned FPSO each;
  • Europe: UK has two announced and one planned, and Norway has two planned;
  • Elsewhere: Israel’s FPSO is expected to start operations in 2020, Australia’s vessel is planned to start in 2018, and North America’s announced FPSO is scheduled to begin in 2022.

Shutdown Of Ghana’s Jubilee Field FPSO Unit Raises Concerns

FPSO Kwame Nkrumah, operating in Ghana’s Jubilee Field, was shut down Feb.1 for three weeks to repair a damaged turret bearing, partners in the project said.

London-based Tullow Oil, the field operator, said it was the first of two shutdowns planned for the first quarter with the second beginning March 19. Another shutdown is planned for the fourth quarter.

The Atuabo gas processing plant will be shut during the first shutdown, but gas from the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme Field will be fed to the plant during the scheduled shutdown in March.

Samuel Bekoe, analyst with Ghana Oil and Gas for Inclusive Growth, expressed concern over the shutdowns, as they make it more difficult for the country to meet its revenue targets.

“In terms of building other FPSOs, we need to make sure we do not face such challenges,” Bekoe told the Xinhua news agency.

However, Joseph Asenso, oil and gas head for Ghana’s Ministry of Finance, countered that the impact from the planned shutdowns had already been factored into the budget and GDP projections.

“So the impact—if it stays within the time frame—then it will not be felt, but if it exceeds, which is quite unlikely, that is when will have a problem,” Asenso said.

Ghana’s assumed price for crude this year is $57.30/bbl. With prices in the mid-$60s, Asenso said he was optimistic that revenues would exceed expectations.

—Joseph Markman