Offshore staff

SINGAPORE -- Keppel Singmarine Pte. Ltd. has clinched a $87.7-million contract to build a floating storage offloading system (FSO) unit for Lukoil subsidiary Lukoil �Nizhnevolzhskneft.

The 28,000-tonne dwt ice-class FSO is a new design by Marine Technology Development Pte. Ltd., design arm of Keppel Singmarine.

The MTD13028FSO-IC FSO is designed with provisions for forecastle deck structure for single point mooring, with double bottom and double sides, a habitable deckhouse and cargo oil control station, machinery space, and a helipad in the aft of the vessel, the company says.

The FSO is meant for uninterrupted service receiving crude oil from a stationary production platform through a single buoy mooring system.

Scheduled for delivery in 1Q 2009, the non-propelled FSO unit will be deployed to the Caspian Sea, the company says.

"This is our first floating storage and offloading system (FSO) newbuild. She is a follow-through of our strategy to enhance our design and construction capabilities and expand into related product lines in sync with the demand in the offshore logistic market," says Hoe Eng Hock, executive director of Keppel Singmarine

The FSO is designed for cold-weather operations to -20º C (-4º F) in ice thickness of 60 cm (24 in.). As the development of oil and gas fields in harsh environments such as the Caspian Sea and the Arctic Circle gathers speed, the company is allocating resources and expertise to become the provider of choice for customers seeking innovative solutions in specialized ice-class vessels to operate in difficult weather conditions, Hock says.

12/14/2006