SBM Offshore divested its stake in FPSO Turritella. SBM had previously signed contracts with Shell Offshore Inc. to supply and lease the Turritella for the Stones development project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM), the company said July 15.

SBM entered into agreements with Mitsubishi Corp. and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line). Mitsubishi has a 30% interest, and NYK Line has a 15% interest; they have acquired a 45% combined stake. SBM is also a partner with both companies in other FPSO ownership and operating deals.

The partners' cash contribution to the Turritella joint venture companies is expected to total approximately US$590 million; the first US$446 million milestone payment was received July 15.

The divestment proceeds will likely be below US$3.5 billion, SBM said. FPSO Turritella is currently under construction in Singapore and is expected to be delivered and on-hire in the first half of 2016.

In SBM’s contracts with Shell Offshore to supply and lease the vessel, there was an initial 10-year period, and extension options for up to 20 years. FPSO Turritella will be started up in first-half 2016, the holding company said.

The Stones development is about 320km offshore Louisiana in the Walker Ridge area, in 2,896m (9,500ft) of water. Turritella will be the world’s deepest FPSO.

The converted Suezmax FPSO will have a turret with a disconnectable buoy, or buoyant turret mooring (BTM). This allows it to separate from the FPSO during a hurricane. The BTM will have steel lazy-wave risers, the first for a disconnectable FPSO. The mooring system will allow line tension to be adjusted during operations.

Netherlands-based SBM has more than 30 years’ experience with turrets. The Generation-2 FPSO can process 60Mbbl/d of oil and it can treat and export 15MMcf/d of natural gas. No water injection facilities are specified. The Suezmax hull will be able to store 800Mbbl of crude oil.

Offshore