2.1.4.4Fleet

Management Approach

The ‘Ocean Infrastructure’ value platform encompasses a fleet of 15 FPSOs and 1 semi-submersible unit, geographically distributed across the globe. To support the energy transition, the fleet aims to provide traditional hydrocarbon energy with the lowest possible (carbon) emissions during the production phase. The fleet adheres to, and applies, the management approach of the wider SBM Offshore organization. Key to this are policies, commitments and mechanisms described in sections 2.1.2 and 2.1.4. Through the company-wide ‘Target Excellence’ program, SBM Offshore drives its ambition for exemplary occupational safety, process safety and quality performance in order to achieve the goals of: ‘no harm, no leaks, and no defects’. There is a sharp focus on continuous improvement. This is achieved by identifying learning opportunities and embedding the resultant lessons into SBM Offshore's corporate memory; the Group Enterprise Management System (GEMS) and Group Technical Standards (GTS).

An experienced workforce comprised of more than 3,200 personnel ensures the safe, reliable and efficient operation of SBM Offshore's offshore assets, generating predictable and sustainable revenue and operating cash-flows for the business.

The SBM Offshore fleet had the following historic performance:

  • Over 6.9 billion barrels of production cumulatively to date.
  • 10,521 oil offloads cumulatively to date.
  • 374 cumulative contract years of operational experience.

SBM Offshore employs a proactive (risk-based) approach to Asset Management, leveraging digital reliability and integrity solutions to automate surveillance, enabling a more optimized deployment of resources and increased efficiency. To ensure that SBM Offshore's activities have a positive and sustainable impact on the local communities in which SBM Offshore is present, the fleet has several programs, aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, focused on well-being and personnel development, emission reduction and protecting the environment.

FLEET PERFORMANCE

HSSE and Process Safety Performance

The volume of activity significantly increased in 2022, with the addition of work scopes that were deferred during the COVID-19 crisis. This increased activity has, in part, led to higher incident rates in the fleet this year. Actions were implemented to halt this trend and stabilize the situation in the fourth quarter.

Despite these challenges, various initiatives and developments to enhance operational safety, process safety, quality and efficiency were progressed throughout the year:

  • Deployment of a new health and wellbeing program.
  • Continued focus on Process Safety Management, barrier management and enhanced Marine Safety.
  • Implementation of a full suite of e-learning, including additional Marine Process Safety and Sustainability training.

Incident − FPSO Cidade de Anchieta

On January 22, 2022 there was observation of oil near FPSO Cidade de Anchieta. The production was shut down and anti-pollution measures were deployed. The estimated volume of oil released in relation to the incident stands at 191m3 which was reported to local authorities. While SBM Offshore regrets this incident, the FPSO remained safe and under control, minimizing the impact to the environment, with no reports of oil reaching coastal areas. SBM Offshore has taken precautionary actions for the integrity of assets operated elsewhere in the world and took lessons for the future. For financial impact of the incident, please refer to section 4.3.1.

Development of Operations

In 2022, FPSO Liza Unity joined the fleet in Guyana, achieving first oil on February 11, 2022. In Brazil, FPSO Capixaba finished production on May 21, 2022, and decommissioning commenced.

  • A new tactical center was opened in Porto, Portugal, centralizing competencies and improving the support provided to the operations in 'Region 2' (Guyana, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Malaysia).
  • The Digital Function has been consolidated to facilitate development of digital solutions across the full product life-cycle.
    • A ‘Robotics Program’ has been initiated, with a 5-year roadmap to create a new technical discipline that will develop and deploy robotics technology in the fleet. The program has three key objectives: improve human safety, optimize working practices and enhance asset integrity. SBM Offshore's digital transformation program continues with focus on creation of value from data, to make operational activities safer, more reliable and more efficient.
    • The deployment of a new ERP system in Brazil in February 2022 adds to improving the efficiency and performance of the business. The ERP system is now generating high-quality structured data that is used to generate the business intelligence necessary to identify further efficiency and performance improvement opportunities.
    • Improvements have been realized by further increasing the stability of the gas processing systems and improving data-analytics. SBM Offshore continued the development of new tools to increase the visibility of emission sources so that their impact can be reduced or eliminated.  For emissions performance please refer to section 2.1.7.

Asset Management

In 2022, a new Asset Management philosophy was introduced, with the following '4 Lines of Defense':

  1. Surveillance and prediction: Leveraging digital and artificial intelligence solutions to perform surveillance and early identification of potential anomalies.
  2. Assurance: Enriched asset management tools to improve the quality of maintenance and inspection activities.
  3. Recovery: Integrated anomaly management to ensure that all actions are addressed according to their priority.
  4. Continuous improvement: Feedback of operational experience into the design process.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the focus was to sustain the business through a very challenging period. To this end, certain hull (integrity) inspection activities were deferred. This year, SBM Offshore has initiated a program to complete the (outstanding) hull inspection campaigns on all assets. These activities are highly labor intensive and investment in additional accommodation solutions will be required to deploy the resources necessary to complete these work scopes in a timely manner.

Responsible Recycling

SBM Offshore commits to responsible recycling of assets at the end of their lifecycle, performed in full compliance with SBM Offshore’s Responsible Recycling Policy and relevant EU regulations.

The MOPU Deep Panuke PFC responsible recycling project, performed locally in Nova Scotia, continued throughout 2022. This project contributed to Sustainable Development Goals by promoting local economic development, establishing traceable waste management streams, supporting habitat creation through deployment of ‘reef balls’ in the surrounding harbor and by sponsoring local education and First Nation projects. More information on recycling is found in section 1.3.3.

FUTURE

SBM Offshore’s core values and responsible business approach underpins an operating philosophy that prioritizes the health and well-being of all personnel, both internal and external. The competency framework will be further developed to ensure that personnel possess the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviors to perform their work safely and reliably. The global Process Safety Management (PSM) team will be strengthened, to support the implementation of the latest ‘barrier management’ practices. The ‘Digital Field Worker’ program, an integrated package of digital solutions that will assist SBM Offshore personnel perform their tasks with greater efficiency and consistency will be introduced next year.

New Fast4Ward® assets will join the fleets in Brazil and Guyana leading to growth offshore and onshore:

  • In Guyana, preparations are ongoing for the arrival of FPSO Prosperity in 2023 and FPSO ONE GUYANA in 2025. SBM Offshore continues to expand and embed its presence in-country, working with the local community on several social and environmental projects.
  • In Brazil, the three new assets (FPSO Sepetiba, FPSO Almirante Tamandaré and FPSO Alexandre de Gusmão) will be supported from the Rio office and preparations are ongoing for the arrival of FPSO Sepetiba in 2023.

The newly established ‘Robotics Program’ will continue to develop and deploy robotics technology in the fleet. The hull integrity program is being evolved to incorporate the latest inspection techniques and technologies to secure floating assets throughout their operating life.

SBM Offshore has set long-term targets for emission reduction in downstream leased assets that will support SBM Offshore’s contributions to Climate Change Mitigation and path to net-zero, as explained in sections 1.4.3 and 2.1.7. One of the commitments is to engage with clients and joint venture partners to ensure the fleet is aligned with a path towards net-zero, as per SDG 7 commitment explained in section 2.2.