Malaysia Names First Deepwater FPSO

abarrelfull wrote on 19 Jul 2012 10:36
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01 March 2007

Malaysia today completed the construction of its first deepwater floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, marking a significant progress in the development of the country's deepwater engineering and construction capability. Named FPSO Kikeh, the facility was constructed by Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE) Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of MISC Bhd, at its yard in Pasir Gudang, Johor. Converted from a very large crude carrier vessel, the FPSO is owned and operated by Malaysian Deepwater Terminal Ltd (MDFT), a joint venture between MISC and Single Buoy Mooring (SBM).

The FPSO will be leased by MDFT to Murphy Sabah Oil Co. Ltd, the production sharing contract partner of PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd, for an initial period of eight years with options for five three-year follow-on extensions. It is scheduled for operation by the middle of this year.

FPSO Kikeh will be moored at the Kikeh field, which lies in water depth of 1,320 metres about 120 kilometres northwest of Labuan. The field is Malaysia's first deepwater discovery and contains large quantities of oil and gas which will be produced via a number of sub-sea wells connected to the FPSO by pipelines on the seabed and flexible riser pipes.

The FPSO is also the biggest such facility to be built in Malaysia and has the largest external turret ever built for any FPSO worldwide. It has the capacity to store up to two million barrels of crude oil, and will be able to process 120,000 barrels of oil per day, with an offloading rate of 37,500 barrels per hour.

The completion of FPSO Kikeh by a local shipyard signifies not only an important milestone in Malaysia's foray into the deepwater industry but augurs well for the country's aspiration to position itself as an emerging regional centre for engineering and construction of deepwater facilities.

The success in building this mega structure is largely due to the emphasis placed on capability building in the deepwater sector by PETRONAS, MISC and MMHE. Through the transfer of technology, made possible by the collaboration between MISC and SBM, the project team from MISC and MMHE was given the opportunity to develop their expertise in the area of deepwater construction.

The FPSO Kikeh project also supports the growth and development of local vendors by providing business opportunities to more than 80 local subcontractors and service providers, exposing them to a project utilizing cutting edge technology that would not have been available to them otherwise.

To mark this proud achievement, a ceremony was held at MMHE's yard today where the FPSO was officially named by Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, Chairman of MISC and President/CEO of PETRONAS.

Also in attendance were President and Chief Executive Officer of Murphy Oil Mr Claiborne Deming, President of SBM Inc Mr Didier Keller, and President/CEO of MISC Dato' Shamsul Azhar Abbas.

• Malaysia Names First Deepwater FPSO

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