SBM Offshore introduced its Fast4Ward program to improve predictability and shorten delivery timelines for floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) projects, Chief Operating Officer Alex Glenn said in a March interview with Offshore Biz.
“A decade ago, our industry was facing a very familiar problem: FPSO projects were taking too long, costing too much, and carrying too much execution risk,” Glenn said.
He traced that problem to the industry’s reliance on one-off vessel designs, where each unit came with its own engineering, integration and supply-chain setup. Glenn said SBM reviewed lessons from more than 30 FPSOs and over 300 cumulative operating years before concluding that much of the vessel architecture could be repeated. “It became clear that 70–80% of an FPSO’s architecture is repeatable, if we standardize early enough and maintain discipline in execution,” he explained.
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At the center of Fast4Ward is a standardized multi-purpose floater hull built ahead of project award. “By locking in a generic, class-approved, ocean-proven hull design, we removed months of engineering, reduced integration risk, and enabled parallel work in the shipyard,” Glenn said. He added that the model also standardizes design elements and equipment selection within topsides modules and applies tighter execution processes across yards and suppliers.
“The results speak for themselves: reduced delivery time by up to a year, fewer integration risks,” Glenn added.
Guyana has been one of the clearest examples of how that model has been used. SBM Offshore has built four FPSOs for ExxonMobil’s Stabroek Block developments offshore Guyana: Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, Prosperity and ONE GUYANA. Liza Destiny predates Fast4Ward. Liza Unity was the first unit with a design based on SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward program. Prosperity and ONE GUYANA were also built on that approach.
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SBM Offshore announced first oil from Liza Unity on February 11, 2022. Prosperity followed on November 14, 2023. ONE GUYANA achieved first oil on August 8, 2025. SBM said ONE GUYANA is the fourth and largest FPSO it has delivered for ExxonMobil in Guyana.
The company’s Fast4Ward fleet has continued to grow beyond Guyana. SBM Offshore said in its full-year 2025 earnings report that 10 Fast4Ward multi-purpose floater hulls had been ordered to date. Eight were in operation or delivered to projects under construction, while two were still under construction.
