She was once the FPSO Xikomba, and prior to that she was known as the tanker Mosocean, and prior still as ESSO Bonn, a crude oil tanker owned by Exxon. As of last week however, she is now the FPSO N’Goma following an extensive refit and upgrade in Singapore, and a subsequent heavy-lift module integration at Paenal shipyard in Angola.
On 18 July, Paenal Shipyard hosted a naming ceremony for the vessel, which is owned by a joint venture company consisting of SBM Offshore, Sonangol and Angolan Offshore Services, and it has since departed for ENI-operated Block 15/16 offshore Angola where mooring operations by the SBM Installer vessel will take place.
For the Angola-based Paenal Shipyard, which is among the largest employers in the region, the successful project represents “a success story in the development of the country’s facilities and infrastructure,” according to Jean-Philippe Rodigues, SBM’s Senior Vice President in Angola. “The yard’s capacity and highly qualified and trained workers are the result of a major investment over the past eight years by SBM Offshore and our partner Sonangol.”
The FPSO will now operate for ENI under a 12-year lease and operate contract with OPS, an equal Joint Venture company between Sonangol and SBM Offshore. The FPSO will have a total oil processing capacity of 100,000 bpd, gas handling capacity of 115 MMSCF per day and water injection capacity of 120,000 bpd.
