16/08/2015
About Offshore Oil & Gas Industry
To meet the increasing energy demand, oil and gas will continue to be the major source of the world's energy well into the 21st century. Moreover, petroleum resources are plentiful, despite some speculation to the contrary. The most troubling questions for the oil and gas industry relate to deliverability rather than availability, and this is surely where technology will play an increasingly important role - all of which bodes well for MODEC.
Offshore production began in 1940's offshore Louisiana. Advancements in technology have expanded the industry to deeper water. Over the last six decades, offshore production has increased tremendously. Currently, approximately 30 percent of world oil and gas production comes from offshore and it is expected to continue to increase in the future.
Fixed platforms were initially used for the offshore development, but as the fields have gone deeper, floating production facilities have become the main solution for the offshore production. There are mainly four types of floating production facilities; Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, Tension Leg Platforms (TLPs), Spars and Production Semi-Submersibles.
Currently approximately 160 FPSOs, 20 TLPs, 20 Spars, 40 Production Semi-Submersibles and 100 Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessels are in operation worldwide. Orders for floating production facilities have increased dramatically over the last decade. That trend is expected to continue as the world's energy consumption continues to grow and advancements in technology provides the capability to extract more hydrocarbons in challenging environments.
