Why technology is key for BW Offshore

Source: Energy Digital

Date :08/01/2008 10:19:35

BW Offshore is an oil services company building and operating floating production systems. Exec looks at its global operations and exciting R&D developments.

Written by Lucy Mowat and Produced by Alex Smith

When Bergesen Worldwide Group was restructured in 2005, BW Offshore evolved as an independent company specialising in the construction and operation of floating production systems (FPSOs) and related offshore equipment. More recently, the company has also been developing new technology and equipment with the potential to change the market.

Although the company is now publically traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange, BW Group still holds about 62 percent of its shares. There are numerous benefits for BW Offshore to be associated with the BW Group; Svein Moxnes Harfjeld, CEO, explains, “We purchase insurance as a group, alongside our sister companies.

We also share our training centres in the Baltic States, Russia, India and the Philippines. That would be expensive for us to do alone, but sharing across the group makes a lot of sense. Lastly, we also bulk purchase some consumables.”

Worldwide

The company has an international supplier base, and its purchasing processes can be positively influenced by being part of a larger group. “We have several hundred suppliers from every corner of the globe. We want to encourage repeat business with these companies and to build loyalty. However, in the market there is a fight for resources, so we need to constantly lookout for new suppliers.”

The company is leading the market in the Gulf of Mexico. It commenced operations here with its latest FPSO, constructed for Pemex. This is, to date, the largest converted FPSO, handling up to 600,000 barrels of oil per day. It also signed a contract with Petrobras in October 2007 to construct and operate what will be the first FPSO in the US Gulf. This FPSO will be installed in a water depth of 2,600 meters, the deepest to date, and will be operational in 2010…

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