Recent stabilisation in the oil price and a backdrop of government support for new projects could see a record number of FPSO projects come online in the next 12 months
Consultancy Marketwatch predicts that 2019-2020 may be the strongest period of growth in the history of the FPSO market, with predictions that it will reach more than US$30bn by 2025.
Figures from Global Data show that Africa is the second-highest growth region, with 14 upcoming FPSO additions by 2025. Angola and Nigeria are the main countries in the region, followed by Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, Tunisia and Mauritania. Contributing factors include growth in offshore exploration and production seeking to replace diminishing onshore reserves and a trend toward fast-track floating solutions which take advantage of advances in subsea technologies.
These drivers are catalysts for innovation, forcing stakeholders to think differently about how to maximise performance with efficient and sustainable offshore operations.
As the leading class society for offshore energy production units, ABS brings extensive experience and technical leadership in FPSO and FPU classification and statutory/regulatory certification. In 1975, ABS provided classification services for the offshore industry’s inaugural floating production system and classed the first FPSO unit in 1978. Now, as a result of ABS’ advanced approach to safety considerations, its global footprint in the classification of FPSOs continues to expand.
As more FPSO projects come online, ABS will continue leading classification by leveraging data to drive innovative solutions that optimise efficiencies and reduce environmental impact for the growing FPSO market.
Application of digital technologies continues to evolve in the offshore world, including floating production units. Technology advances such as remote inspection techniques, sensor technology and data analytics are driving new levels of reliability that enable better decision-making and improve asset performance.
By leveraging data science and digital technologies, ABS can provide deeper insights into asset condition to optimise inspection activities, reduce downtime and operational costs and transition to an informed, targeted, and predictive classification model.
