Hanwha Ocean is making efforts to secure contracts for floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities, often referred to as floating oil refineries. The company plans to participate in the bidding for FPSOs to be used in developing deep-sea oil fields in Brazil, marking its first attempt since the name change from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to Hanwha Ocean in 2023. Hanwha Ocean is focusing on strengthening its capabilities in the marine plant business, including the acquisition of Singaporean marine plant corporation Dynamac Holdings.
According to the shipbuilding industry on the 17th, Hanwha Ocean has decided to participate in the bidding for the FPSO project in Brazil, making it the only domestic shipyard to do so. The bidding is being conducted by the Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras for the design, procurement, and construction (EPC) of one FPSO (P-86) to be used in the development of deep-sea oil fields. The bidding proposal deadline was initially set for the 6th of this month but has been extended to Nov. 3 due to oil price volatility and increases in FPSO prices.
An FPSO refers to a large-scale, complex offshore facility that processes all steps from production, refining, storage, to offloading of crude oil and gas from offshore oil or gas fields in one location. Unlike fixed structures, FPSOs are mobile and are considered key facilities for developing oil fields in deep waters. After extracting crude oil from the sea, it can be processed directly on the vessel and stored in tanks before being transported to land using tankers when needed.
This bidding for the FPSO in Brazil is expected to attract competition from several overseas shipyards in countries such as China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brazil. In Korea, only Hanwha Ocean will participate. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries are focusing their capabilities on floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facilities and have decided not to participate, considering the construction schedules of other vessels.
Hanwha Ocean has secured a total of eight FPSOs since its time as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, delivering seven of them. The remaining unit is currently under construction. The most recent contract was in 2021 when Hanwha Ocean, along with an Italian company, secured an FPSO from Petrobras in Brazil.
Hanwha Ocean aims to stand out in the overall marine industry. Last year, to strengthen its marine plant sector, it acquired Dynamac Holdings, a Singaporean manufacturer specializing in floating marine facilities, in collaboration with Hanwha Aerospace. This year, it is rebranding as Hanwha Offshore Singapore and is making comprehensive adjustments to create vertical integration for marine plant design, equipment fabrication, assembly, and commissioning.
Hanwha Ocean is targeting the market based on the production of ultra-large FPSOs, process and delivery time reduction, and energy savings. It has created a standard FPSO design and received concept approval (AiP) for its 'standard FPSO Pre-FEED design' from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Bureau Veritas (BV) in France.
In recent years, the prices of FPSOs have been on a steep upward trend. Last year, Petrobras contracted two FPSOs (P-85, P-84) for approximately $4.07 billion (about 5.65 trillion won) each. Compared to the FPSO contract (P-79) signed in 2021 for about $2.3 billion (approximately 3.2 trillion won), this represents an increase of about 75%.