SBM Offshore has received a Statement of Maturity from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for its seawater intake riser (SWIR) technology, a subsea cooling system designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions on floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels.
The company announced on May 26 that the technology was developed in collaboration with Shell and uses colder seawater drawn from approximately 700 meters below the ocean surface for onboard cooling and power generation.
According to SBM Offshore, the system can reduce fuel gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by using naturally colder seawater to improve process cooling efficiency on FPSOs operating offshore.
The approval followed testing under ABS’s New Technology Qualification (NTQ) program, which assesses new engineering systems for safety and regulatory compliance before deployment.
SBM Offshore said the Statement of Maturity confirms the technology is ready to be incorporated into a production unit.
“SWIR’s development reflects SBM Offshore’s innovation leadership and its commitment to supporting the emission reduction journey. SWIR is an important step in our low-carbon roadmap: the project began as an in-house concept in 2014 and advanced through a multi-year, multi-party effort, including a development partnership with Shell and research input from academic institutes,” SBM Offshore’s Technology and Product Development Director Laurent Le Touzé said.
Shell Brasil Technology Project Manager Eli Gomes said the system showed strong operational potential for FPSOs.
“We are optimistic about the promising results achieved by the seawater intake system project. The technology will enable significant optimization and performance improvements in FPSO process and utilities plants, while also contributing to the decarbonization of offshore oil and gas production,” Gomes said.
SBM Offshore specializes in building floating production vessels, with a strong record of such deliveries in Guyana and Brazil.
The company has delivered and developed four FPSO vessels for ExxonMobil Guyana’s operations in the Stabroek Block.
SBM Offshore gets front-end engineering contract for ExxonMobil’s Longtail FPSO | OilNOW
ONE GUYANA is the largest of the four, with an initial production capacity of 250,000 barrels per day (b/d), which has since been optimized to 270,000 b/d.
