Two months after Hamworthy signed its largest single contract for pumps so far, when Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd (DSME) ordered 30 electric-drive deepwell pumps from Hamworthy Gas Systems AS for Total’s Pazflor FPSO, Hamworthy Moss AS signed a contract with DSME for an inert gas (IG) generation unit for the same vessel.
The Pazflor development is located about 150km off the coast of Angola. Drilling operations are planned to commence in 2009 and oil production is scheduled to start in 2011. The Pazflor FPSO will have a processing capacity of 200,000 barrels of oil per day and be able to store 1.9 million barrels.
The FPSO’s IG plant will have a capacity of 9,500 Nm³/h. “Hamworthy was chosen as the preferred supplier mainly because of its proven track record with offshore projects such as AKPO and AGBAMI, as well as its long and trusted relationships with DSME and Total,” said Geir Hellum, managing director of Hamworthy Moss AS.
“Both of these contracts are major milestones for Hamworthy’s offshore business,” said Hamworthy’s offshore director, Stein Thorsager. “Not only was the pump contract an achievement in itself, but the delivery of 30 deepwell pumps of 32.5m in length has opened up a new product segment for Hamworthy in the offshore market, namely process pumps installed in the FPSO hull. This contract is also an important step forward into oil majors’ huge FPSO projects, such as Total’s, as up until now this market has been dominated by hydraulically-driven pumps”.
FPSO deepwell pumps featuring electric drives made a breakthrough in 2004 when Hamworthy was selected to supply the cargo handling system for the 900,000-barrel storage capacity FPSO Nganhurra, built by Samsung Heavy Industries and operating at the Enfield oilfield in Australia for Woodside. Since then Hamworthy’s electric-drive deepwell pumps have been selected for several FPSOs. “A clear indication of the success for electric-drive deepwell pumps is seen in the relationship we have built up with the second largest FPSO operating company in the world, MODEC, by entering into contracts for cargo pump deliveries for its three latest FPSOs: Stybarrow Venture MV16, Pyrenees and Cidade de Santos MV20,” Mr Thorsager said.
“Electric-drive deepwell cargo pumps offer a reliable, safe and energy-saving alternative to hydraulic-driven pumps. Our pump types give oil companies and operators a good and simplified distributed cargo pump system as an alternative to hydraulic-drive cargo pumps”.
Complementing its marine and onshore activities, Hamworthy’s offshore business is expanding. The company’s offshore specialists have extensive experience in supporting the exploration and production sectors with environmentally friendly, innovative and integrated equipment solutions.
For example, Hamworthy’s offshore business unit is marketing the company’s economic, flexible, safe and robust technology for FLNG (offshore floating LNG production). “Hamworthy specialises in the design, manufacture, and turn key delivery of FLNG topside,” Mr Thorsager said. “Our LNG process combines the very latest in gas technology with improved overall efficiency, still keeping the robust, safe and simple design which is vital for offshore floating applications.”
