Bourbon Liberty, the technological excellence of deepwater offshore applied to continental offshore
To meet the dual challenge of growing oil and gas needs on one hand and of the offsetting declining production from existing fields on the other hand, deepwater and ultra-deepwater offshore should account for 40% of global oil and gas production growth in future years. In parallel, fields situated on the continental shelf are continuing to be developed, especially in Asia.
“The existing fleet of vessels in this market is old and requires maintenance more and more”
explains Gaël Bodenes, Deputy CEO of Bourbon Offshore. “In 2010, of the existing fleet of continental offshore vessels, 300 supply vessels will be over 30 years old and more than 700 will be between 20 and 30 years old, but the rapid replacement of this fleet is hampered by the bottleneck that we are now seeing in shipyards.
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Based on this analysis, BOURBON has anticipated and "taken the lead" in investing massively in new-generation vessels that are capable of operating in deepwater offshore rapidly replacing the old continental offshore fleet. A capacity for anticipation that has already borne fruit: by targeting the replacement market for old vessels, which is increasing by at least 16% per annum, BOURBON is now the only company in the market that is able to offer continental offshore clients the technological excellence of deepwater offshore.
An innovative and multi-purpose fleet, the result of experience in deep water offshore
Designed by GPA and tailored to BOURBON specifications, these vessels reap the benefit of BOURBON’s long experience in deepwater offshore and are a real ‘revolution’ on the continental offshore market.
In this new line, DP2 which equips all the vessels will be a major advantage. The systematic use of this technology, allied with the systems of propulsion, should enable operations under new procedures for anchor handling and transfer of supplies, ensuring better safety conditions. All the vessels will have a diesel-electric propulsion system, reducing fuel consumption by 20 - 30%, while offering better maneuverability thanks to integrated azimuth 360 ° - directional thrusters (Z-drive technology). The redundancy of the three generators and three thrusters, which makes it possible to operate on two generators and thrusters, is an additional safety feature. Finally, locating the engines on the main deck increases the cargo space available on the lower deck of the PSV; and the oval design of the mud tanks coupled with innovative technologies, enables the loading of liquid mud (640 m3) to be optimized and the transfer operations speeded up.
Mass construction of these vessels from a competitively priced Chinese shipyard is another significant advantage on a market in which cost control is a decisive factor for success. Firstly, it will enable substantial savings (15- 30%) on capital expenditure per vessel. The standardization of the fleet will also help control cost and customer service quality in three ways:
- maintenance: by reducing stocks of spare parts and optimizing the repair time and therefore the availability of the vessels;
- interchange of vessels: offering a standard substitution during time in dry dock or periodic maintenance when the vessel is immobilized;
- interchange of crews and sharing of best practice: standardized training thanks in particular to the use of simulation tools especially adapted to the model of vessels built in series according to BOURBON specifications.
The constitution of a homogenous fleet will thus help us provide a better service to clients while improving productivity and safety. It will also help implement local partnerships.
Sinopacific: a shipyard partner which proved reliable
«The success of this model lies in the mutual experience developed with the Sinopacific yards, which have already delivered 20 offshore vessels to BOURBON. Mass construction ensures ongoing improvement in the quality of the vessels.
» explains Christian Lefèvre, BOURBON Chief Operating Officer. «These vessels, which offer exceptional maneuverability and ability to hold at a fixed point, have completely satisfied our customers’ expectations.
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It is thus with great confidence that the BOURBON teams deployed for the newbuilding follow-up work with the Sinopacific teams of the 2 sites of Dayang and Zhejiang.
The Bourbon Liberty 107 and 108, currently in construction at Sinopacific, on the shipyard of Dayang