ConocoPhillips builds 175,000-ton hull

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

ConocoPhillips Indonesia has completed the construction of a 175,000-ton hull for its floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel in South Natuna gas field, the company said in a statement issued on Thursday.

The Belanak FSPO hull will be used to process gas, oil and condensate from multiple fields in the eastern side of South Natuna.

Constructed in Dalian, China, the hull will have a storage capacity of one million barrels of oil and large deck space to accommodate more than 13 topside modules.

At 285 meters long, 58 meters wide, a depth of 26 meters and maximum displacement of 255,000 tons, the Belanak FPSO becomes one of the largest FPSO hulls ever built, the company said.

PT Brown & Root Indonesia and Halliburton's subsidiary Dresser Kellog Energy Services (DKES) were responsible for the design, engineering, construction and installation works of the hull facility.

"This is the first time that either ConocoPhillips Indonesia or Halliburton has built an FPSO hull in China. The Belanak hull is also the first ever FPSO hull of such size and complexity to be built in China," Paul Warwick, president and general manager of ConocoPhillips Indonesia said in the press release.

The hull will be towed by two ocean-going tugs from Dalian, China to Batam island in Indonesia and is expected to reach the island in three weeks.

Upon arrival in Batam, the hull will berth at a new quayside built by PT McDermott Indonesia.

Later, the completed FPSO will be towed to its installation site at Belanak field in the South Natuna Sea. It expects to pump its first oil in the fourth quarter of 2004.

The Belanak field is to supply gas to Malaysia and Singapore.