Singapore yards sign oil & gas deals to turn tankers into floating docks

SINGAPORE shipyards are winning orders from the oil & gas sector to build floating docks from new materials or convert old tankers into this new use, says a GBI Research report.

New York-based GBI Research said Singapore is where 70 per cent of the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit conversions worldwide, with shipyards such as Keppel, Sembawang, Jurong and ST Marine.

Keppel won three conversion contracts worth US$82 million in July from Petro Vietnam Technical Services (PTSC) Asia-Pacific Pte Limited, Perenco Group, and BC Petroleum, said the report.

PTSC contracted the Keppel yard to convert a tanker into a FPSO unit, to be deployed in the Thang Long and Dong Do oil fields in the Cuu Long Basin off Vietnam to be ready for service late next year.

Perenco wants a tanker conversion to be deployed off the West African coast near Gabon next year, and BC Petroleum wants another coverted tanker to work the Balai Cluster oil fields off Malaysia. Keppel is engaged in six such contracts.

GBI Research is a provider of business intelligence reports, offering actionable data and forecasts based on the insights of key industry leaders to ensure customers stay up to date as market trends emerge, said a company statement.