Harland & Wolff Bags $74MM Contract for FPSO Upgrade with Cenovus

Harland & Wolff Group Holdings plc has secured a $74 million (GBP 61 million) base contract to deliver the mid-life upgrade contract of the SeaRose floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel from Calgary-based Cenovus Energy Inc.

The Searose vessel is expected to arrive at the company’s Belfast Yard in early 2024 and will be in the building dock for over three months, Harland & Wolff said in a news release Friday, adding that several pre-arrival works have already begun in Belfast, including inspections, procurement of steel, fabrication of customized blocks and other dry dock operations. Further fabrication has begun to ensure the yard is fully prepared to start the refurbishment and upgrade works effectively and efficiently as soon as the FPSO vessel arrives next year, the company added.

London-based Harland & Wolff noted that the SeaRose had been in its Belfast Yard in 2012, adding that the “ability to apply the latest technologies and innovations to the vessel upgrade” helped to win the major contract for the company.

“I am delighted that Cenovus has chosen Harland & Wolff as its preferred yard to undertake the mid-life upgrade of the SeaRose”, Harland & Wolff CEO John Wood said. “This is a significant win within our non-defense portfolio from a global, blue-chip energy group and I am pleased that we are gaining a reputation as a go-to yard for large and complex programs. With an estimated 1,000 personnel on-site, this project will allow for further synergies in our execution, leveraging off of personnel, skill sets, and supply chains that will support the upcoming FSS [Fleet Solid Support] Program”.

Harland & Wolff is a multisite fabrication company, operating in the maritime and offshore industry through five markets: commercial, cruise and ferry, defense, energy, and renewables. The company provides technical, fabrication and construction, decommissioning, repair and maintenance, in-service support, and conversion services.

According to the release, the company’s Belfast yard is one of Europe’s largest heavy engineering facilities, with deepwater access, two of Europe’s largest drydocks, ample quayside, and vast fabrication halls. As a result of its acquisition of Harland & Wolff (Appledore) in August 2020, the company said it has been able to capitalize on “opportunities at both ends of the ship-repair and shipbuilding markets where there is significant demand”.

In February 2021, the company acquired the assets of two Scottish-based yards along the east and west coasts. Now known as Harland & Wolff (Methil) and Harland & Wolff (Arnish), the facilities will focus on fabrication work within the renewables, energy, and defense sectors.

Harland & Wolff also owns the Islandmagee gas storage project, which is expected to provide 25 percent of the United Kingdom’s natural gas storage capacity when completed. The gas storage project was first established in 2010 when a layer of salt was discovered 4,921 feet (1500 meters) underneath Larne Lough, ideal for the establishment of underground gas storage caverns, according to an earlier news release. It is the only large-scale gas storage project in the entire island of Ireland and lends itself naturally to boosting the security of energy supply to the entire island. The fact that gas will be stored in salt caverns allows for high deliverability rates into and out of the store, helping to balance the gas network in times of peak stress, the release said.

Meanwhile, Harland & Wolff has opened a new company in Scotland that will service the thriving energy sector in Aberdeen. Harland & Wolff Technologies will focus on fuels of the future, batteries, propulsion, and system integration, whilst servicing operational assets in the North Sea, according to a separate news release. The new company is developing a suite of support agreements and joint venture partnerships with equipment manufacturers.

“With projects starting to ramp up and new technologies increasingly being incorporated into the majority of them, the establishment of Harland & Wolff Technologies enables us to be at the forefront of client requirements now and into the future”, Wood said. “In the first instance, we will be focusing on in-service support including mechanical, pipework, fabrication, and outfitting services”.

“Harland & Wolff Technologies’ offering will allow assets to be in operation whilst being serviced by our riding crews. Ultimately, this will reduce the time spent by an asset in a drydock, keep it in continuous operation, and therefore reduce downtime costs, all of which are highly attractive outcomes for our clients”, Wood added.

Richard Davidson has been appointed the managing director of the new subsidiary. Richard brings with him over three decades of experience in the energy and maritime markets and has been instrumental in introducing and commercializing new technologies centered around propulsion and fuels, according to the release.

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