MODEC and SBM Offshore are competing for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) award from TotalEnergies for Suriname’s first floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, Upstream said in a March 25 report.
The publication said the companies have stepped up efforts to secure yard space, after both conducting front-end engineering and design studies since late last year, anticipating the substantive contract.
TotalEnergies and its Block 58 partner, APA Corporation, are pursuing a US$9 billion oil development for the Sapakara South and Krabdagu discoveries, estimated to hold 700 million barrels of oil collectively. The FPSO would target production at 200,000 barrels per day (b/d).
Total’s Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Pouyanne, had said in February that the company wants to model its approach to leasing FPSOs after Exxon’s work in Guyana. “We try to transfer part of their way to manage some of the leased FPSO in order to be efficient on the costs,” he had stated.
So far, SBM Offshore has delivered all three of the floaters operating in Guyana and is set to deliver two more. MODEC was hired for the Uaru project. Both companies have been challenged by Exxon to deliver large FPSOs with world-leading production capacities.
Suriname is banking heavily on offshore oil to be a hail mary for its troubled economy. The government even tied a debt restructuring program to future oil royalties from the Block 58 project, as part of an economic recovery program guided by the International Monetary Fund.
Staatsolie said in a February release that there was no reason to consider delays to the TotalEnergies-led Block 58 project, after Pouyanne said the company could delay one of four projects destined for Brazil and Suriname, due to cost considerations.
The plan of development for the Block 58 project is expected to be submitted this year, with approvals and sanctions expected by year-end. Total and APA are targeting first oil in 2028.
