FPSO newbuild sets course from Singapore to Australia

New FPSO Vessel Embarks on Journey from Singapore to Australia
May 28, 2025, by Dragana Niksa

Norwegian company BW Offshore’s floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit has departed from Seatrium’s facility in Singapore and is en route to operate off the coast of Australia’s Northern Territory.

The FPSO vessel, named BW Opal, has been fully commissioned and is ready for deployment offshore. It left Seatrium’s Tuas Boulevard Yard and was escorted out of the bay on the morning of May 28. Tugs have taken over the task of transporting the vessel to its new location at Australia’s Barossa field.

Upon reaching its destination, hook-up operations will commence promptly, followed by the start-up phase, involving offshore commissioning, well clean-up, and preparation for gas export scheduled for Q3 2025.

The BW Opal, designed for a 25-year offshore lifespan, is the outcome of extensive engineering and international collaboration efforts. With dimensions of 358 meters in length and 64 meters in width, the vessel features 230 MW of installed power, gas processing facilities capable of handling 850 million standard cubic feet per day, and the ability to process 11,000 barrels per day of stabilized condensate.

Seatrium reports that the FPSO will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% compared to conventional systems, resulting in a potential decrease of up to 2.3 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over its operational lifetime.

BW Offshore named the vessel on February 15, following earlier concerns about project cost overruns. Before its departure, BW Offshore’s management and the families of employees who contributed to the vessel’s construction visited the asset.

Expressing gratitude for the project participants, BW Offshore highlighted Seatrium’s crucial role in preparing BW Opal for a safe departure.

Marlin Khiew, Seatrium’s Executive Vice President of Energy (Americas), emphasized the collaboration’s success, praising BW Offshore’s trust in Seatrium for handling their projects and highlighting Seatrium’s expertise in FPSO projects.

The FPSO BW Opal will be engaged in the Barossa project, involving gas and condensate production from six subsea wells, with condensate exports via tankers and natural gas transport via the Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) to Darwin LNG, connected to the existing Bayu-Undan pipeline.

Located about 285 kilometers offshore north-northwest of Darwin, the Barossa project received approval in 2021 and is a joint venture between Santos (50%), SK E&S (32.5%), and JERA (12.5%). Santos obtained authorization from Australia’s National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) to proceed with the project in late April.