FSO Ailsa, the world’s first Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel with a 40-year hull lifespan, will set sail next month for the Culzean gas field in the UK North Sea.

Newly completed at the Sembcorp Marine Tuas Boulevard Yard for MODEC, a leading specialist of offshore oil and gas floating production systems, and with French oil supermajor TOTAL as the field operator and TOTAL, BP and JX Nippon as Joint Venture owners, FSO Ailsa will enter service with a hull designed to have twice the average hull fatigue lifespan of other newbuild FSOs, as verified by marine assurance company DNV GL.

A longer hull fatigue life enables ships to withstand harsher and more extreme environmental conditions, such as rogue waves, corrosion, large ambient temperature variation and thunderstorms.

Equipped with a 430,000-barrel condensate storage capacity, FSO Ailsa also boasts a 25-year continuous operability without drydocking and full compliance with strict UK safety regulations for harsh-environment operations in the Culzean field.

Speaking at Ailsa’s christening in Tuas Boulevard Yard this morning, Mr Sateesh Dev, President & CEO of MODEC Offshore Production Systems (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., said, “FSO Ailsa, the 46th floating unit MODEC has accomplished for the offshore oil and gas production industry, represents a significant milestone for us as it is the first one we have built for the North Sea oil and gas sector. We are honoured to play a key role in the Culzean project with this newbuild FSO, which has been exciting and challenging. The successful delivery of the FSO was largely attributed to the close and strong cooperation between our long-term partner Sembcorp Marine and us. We congratulate Sembcorp Marine for completing the vessel successfully.”

Mr Claus Vissing-Jorgensen, Culzean Project Director for TOTAL, said, “TOTAL is delighted to celebrate the successful completion of the FSO Ailsa for the Culzean project. Work has been carried out safely to a standard that confirms the strong capabilities of these fabrication facilities in Singapore.”

Sembcorp Marine President & CEO Mr Wong Weng Sun said the Group had strengthened its capabilities and production capacity over the past few years, aiming to pack more value into its solutions.

He said, “Providing more competitive customer value is what drives Sembcorp Marine to invest strategically in capability and capacity expansion. The successful completion of FSO Ailsa demonstrates that we are now supporting the energy, offshore and marine value chain with a broader and deeper suite of innovative solutions. We are grateful for the opportunities to contribute to the Culzean field development, not only through the FSO project, but also our construction of three major fixed platform topsides comprising central processing, wellhead as well as utility and living quarters facilities which we will deliver in the weeks ahead.”

Mr Wong added that the Maersk Highlander, a high-specification jack-up rig Sembcorp Marine completed in 2016, is now deployed at the Culzean field.

FSO Ailsa is Sembcorp Marine’s first floating storage and offloading newbuild project, constructed over 22 months with a zero Lost Time Incidents record. The Group designed this vessel in-house, particularly leveraging a proprietary hull design from its subsidiary LMG Marin, a leading ship design house in Europe.

Some 150 guests witnessed today’s christening of FSO Ailsa by Ms Elisabeth Proust, recently retired Managing Director of TOTAL E&P UK Limited.

About Sembcorp Marine

Sembcorp Marine provides innovative engineering solutions to the global offshore, marine and energy industries. Drawing upon more than 50 years of track record and an extensive network of facilities and expertise, the Group focuses on four key capabilities, namely, Rigs & Floaters; Repairs & Upgrades; Offshore Platforms and Specialised Shipbuilding.

Sembcorp Marine operates shipyards strategically located in Singapore, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and Brazil. Its customers include major oil companies, drilling contractors, shipping companies as well as owners and operators of floating production units.

About Total

Total is a global integrated energy producer and provider, a leading international oil and gas company, a major player in low-carbon energies. Our 98,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, cleaner, more efficient, more innovative and accessible to as many people as possible. As a responsible corporate citizen, we focus on ensuring that our operations in more than 130 countries worldwide consistently deliver economic, social and environmental benefits.