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UK-headquartered energy giant BP has entrusted Seatrium, a Singapore-headquartered provider of offshore, marine, and energy solutions, with an assignment related to a newbuild floating production unit (FPU), destined for deployment at a deepwater oil project in the Gulf of America (the U.S. Gulf of Mexico).
While disclosing a deal to handle the engineering, procurement, construction, and onshore commissioning of the Tiber FPU project in the Gulf of America, Seatrium explains that this marks its second consecutive deepwater project with BP, further strengthening the relationship established through the award of the Kaskida FPU in December 2024.
With a production capacity of 80,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the FPU is designed to incorporate advanced technologies to enhance operational efficiency and safety. This unit will be used for production from the Tiber and Guadalupe fields in the Keathley Canyon area of the Gulf of America, about 300 miles southwest of New Orleans, in water depths of around 4,100 feet.
William Gu , Executive Vice President of Seatrium Energy (International), commented: “The Tiber FPU award marks a significant milestone in our relationship with BP and underscores the strength of our series-build approach for the Gulf of America production units.
“It also highlights Seatrium’s expanding foothold in the FPU segment, delivering exceptional quality and efficiency with uncompromising safety through maximum on-ground completion and single-lift capability.”
According to Seatrium, over 85% of the Tiber FPU design will replicate the Kaskida FPU, enabling the Singapore-based player to capitalize on established design efficiencies and apply lessons learned and best practices for enhanced project execution.
“Drawing on lessons learned from our growing portfolio of FPU projects, we will continue to translate experience into execution excellence. Our commitment remains steadfast in supporting bp’s offshore developments,” added Gu.
The firm elaborates that the topside for the Tiber FPU will be installed onto the hull using its single-lift integration methodology, enabled by its Goliath twin cranes with a combined lifting capacity of 30,000 tonnes, as such an approach allows the topside to be fully completed and tested at ground level, maximizing readiness, safety, and efficiency.
“The series-build approach drives supply chain efficiency through standardised procurement and coordinated project planning across both projects. This replication strategy also enables Seatrium to leverage key engineering and commissioning support partners, as well as trusted equipment suppliers, ensuring consistent and streamlined execution of this large-scale offshore project,” emphasized the company.
The Tiber FPU adds to Seatrium’s growing portfolio of FPUs and follows the ongoing Shell’s Sparta and BP’s Kaskida FPU newbuilds and the completion of Shell’s Vito and Whale FPU newbuilds in 2021 and 2023, respectively.
The estimated $5 billion Tiber-Guadalupe project aims to bring online around 10 billion barrels of discovered resources in place across BP’s Gulf of America Paleogene assets. This project includes six wells in the Tiber field and a two-well tie-back from the Guadalupe field . The production is anticipated to start in 2030.
These fields are estimated to contain recoverable resources of approximately 350 million barrels of oil equivalent from the initial phase. OneSubsea, a joint venture between SLB, Aker Solutions, and Subsea7, is in charge of supplying a subsea boosting system for the project.