SBM Offshore N.V. is a Dutch-based global group of companies selling systems and services to the offshore oil and gas industry. Its constituent companies started their offshore activities in the early 1950s and SBM subsequently became a pioneer in single buoy moorings (SBM) systems. The firm leases and operates Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels, and is involved in the design and engineering, construction, installation, operation and maintenance of floating production equipment for the offshore Oils and Gas industry. It is a main board listed company on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange and has been a member of the AEX index since 2003. It had been involved in part of a massive corruption scandal in Brazil.
Single point mooring at Whiddy Island, Ireland
Upper section of Brent SPAR, an SBM subtype
FPSO Firenze in 2007, just before break up
Renato Duque services director at Petrobras 2003-2012
Floating production storage and offloading
A floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry for the production and processing of hydrocarbons, and for the storage of oil. An FPSO vessel is designed to receive hydrocarbons produced by itself or from nearby platforms or subsea template, process them, and store oil until it can be offloaded onto a tanker or, less frequently, transported through a pipeline. FPSOs are preferred in frontier offshore regions as they are easy to install, and do not require a local pipeline infrastructure to export oil. FPSOs can be a conversion of an oil tanker or can be a vessel built specially for the application. A vessel used only to store oil is referred to as a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel.
FPSO OSX #1 at Rio de Janeiro Coast
FPSO Mystras at work off the shore of Nigeria
FPSO Crystal Ocean moored at the Port of Melbourne
The circular FPSO Sevan Voyageur moored at Nymo yard at Eydehavn, Norway