SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - Hanwha Ocean is preparing a bid for a major Brazilian offshore oil platform project, signaling its return to the high-stakes Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) market.
The company’s participation in the Petrobras-led P-86 project marks its first FPSO tender. It also reflects a broader strategic pivot toward high-value offshore energy infrastructure as the global industry recovers from years of volatility and underinvestment.
Hanwha Ocean is expected to be the sole South Korean bidder for the P-86 unit, a deepwater FPSO platform planned for deployment off Brazil’s coast. Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, had initially set a bid deadline of June 6 but postponed it to November 3, citing heightened oil price volatility and soaring construction costs.
FPSOs are massive, mobile offshore vessels that can extract, process, store, and offload oil and gas at sea, often in deepwater fields too remote for fixed infrastructure. The platforms are complex and costly — each can exceed 1.4 trillion won (about $1.05 billion) — but offer strategic value for shipbuilders with the capacity to deliver at scale.
Though rivals from China, Singapore, Malaysia and Brazil are expected to participate, Hanwha Ocean will stand alone among Korean contenders. Both HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries have opted out of the bidding process, focusing instead on FLNG (Floating Liquefied Natural Gas) projects and existing vessel backlogs.
Philippe Levy, head of offshore operations at Hanwha Ocean, said the company aims to build three FPSO units every two years beginning in 2027. To meet that target, Hanwha is investing in new production capacity, including an ultra-large floating dock and a 6,500-ton offshore crane, both designed to support modular construction and reduce lead times.
The company has also secured basic design approval for its standardized FPSO model from the American Bureau of Shipping, with co-certification from France’s Bureau Veritas. The vessel measures 340 meters long and 62 meters wide, and is designed to process up to 190,000 barrels of oil per day while storing up to 2.38 million barrels.
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