Douglas-Westwood: Floating production installation values to rise

Oct. 8, 2012
Some $91 billion is expected to be spent on 121 floating production systems during 2013-17, Douglas-Westwood said in its most recent study.

Some $91 billion is expected to be spent on 121 floating production systems during 2013-17, Douglas-Westwood said in its most recent study.

The value of annual floating production installations worldwide is forecast to grow from $10.2 billion in 2013 to $26.2 billion in 2017, Douglas-Westwood researchers said in the study, “World Floating Production Market Forecast 2013-17.”

Floating production, storage, and offloading vessels will represent the largest segment of the market both in numbers (94 installations) and forecast expenditures (80%) during 2013-17, said the report’s author, Hannah Lewendon.

“Floating production is firmly established as a cost-effective method of developing oil and gas fields around the world. In water depths beyond 500 m (1,640 ft) floating production systems becomes one of the few options open to operators, an increasingly important factor as production moves into these areas,” Lewendon said.

The report forecast 63% of global FPS market spend will be in deepwater.

Latin America is expected to account for 29% of the 121 installations forecast and 37% of the projected expenditure, Douglas-Westwood said. The forecast indicates installations offshore Asia, Africa, and Western Europe will account for most of the rest.

In Latin America, most offshore installations have been in fields operated by Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), and this trend is apt to continue although delays are expected for Petrobras’s offshore exploration and production investment. Local content requirements are driving up prices and extending lead times offshore Brazil, Douglas-Westwood said.