Expands standardized FPSO portfolio to cover both South America and West Africa
Hanwha Ocean has strengthened its competitiveness in the global offshore energy market by obtaining international classification approvals for its standardized Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) design tailored for South American projects.
The company announced that its Standard FPSO Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) has received a Basic Design Review (BDR) certification from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and an Approval in Principle (AIP) from DNV, one of the world's leading classification societies.
The newly certified design has been optimized for South America's offshore oil fields, where a number of large-scale FPSO projects are expected to be launched in the coming years. The certifications validate the design's technical reliability and compliance with international standards, enhancing Hanwha Ocean's competitiveness in future global tenders.
The achievement follows the company's earlier development of a standardized FPSO Pre-FEED model for deepwater projects in West Africa, which received AIP certifications from ABS and France's Bureau Veritas (BV) in 2024. Together, the two standardized designs establish a comprehensive FPSO portfolio covering two of the world's fastest-growing offshore energy regions.
Global demand for FPSOs has been increasing as major oil and gas developments expand across deepwater fields in South America and West Africa. Industry analysts expect investment in offshore production facilities to remain strong as energy companies continue developing large-scale offshore reserves.
An FPSO is a floating offshore production facility that extracts hydrocarbons from subsea wells, processes crude oil or natural gas, stores the output onboard, and transfers it to shuttle tankers. The facilities are considered essential infrastructure for deepwater oil and gas production.
Hanwha Ocean's standardized FPSO platform is a key element of the company's long-term standardization strategy. Unlike conventional project-specific engineering, the standardized platform enables greater efficiency in design, procurement, and construction while shortening project schedules and improving cost competitiveness. It also allows the company to respond more quickly to varying customer requirements using a proven engineering platform.
During the certification process, the design underwent comprehensive technical verification covering the hull and marine systems, topside facilities, mooring systems, and other major engineering disciplines. Compliance with international regulations and classification requirements was confirmed, further reinforcing the platform's technical credibility. The successful certification of the FEED package is also expected to enhance customer confidence by demonstrating the design's maturity and engineering readiness.
"These certifications from ABS and DNV recognize Hanwha Ocean's world-class FPSO engineering capabilities and technological expertise," a company spokesperson said. "Building on our standardized platform strategy, we will strengthen our competitiveness in the global FPSO market while providing optimized solutions tailored to the specific requirements of South America, West Africa, and other key offshore regions."
