MISC Integrated Annual Report 2020

SPECIAL FOCUS The FPSO Industry Historically, offshore production accounts for an estimated 30% of the world’s oil reserves over the past decade. Exploration and production of hydrocarbons offshore generally began in shallow waters. As the demand for oil continued to increase over the decades, the industry has had to move further offshore to find new sources to replace declining production from shallow water fields. The development of more sophisticated technologies paved the way for offshore production in water depths of more than 500 metres. This marked the evolution from fixed platforms, which are structures that are fitted directly to the bottom of the sea, to various types of floating production facilities that are known as floating production systems (FPS). FPS have been designed in several forms, each with their own unique characteristics and advantages such as the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units. The advancement of methods and technologies enables FPS units to operate in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas, reaching depths of more than 2,000 metres. These units are designed to operate for prolonged periods and able to take on the challenges of increasingly complex environments and harsh weather conditions. Today, close to 300 FPS units are in operation globally and the key production regions include the coastal waters off South America, West Africa, the North Sea as well as Southeast Asia.