SBM Offshore has been contracted to construct an FSO unit for the Trion deepwater oil project in the Gulf of Mexico.  

The Netherlands-based oilfield services provider will build and lease the FSO for a 20-year period to Woodside Petróleo Operaciones de México, a subsidiary of Australia’s Woodside Energy. 

The FSO unit, based on a Suezmax-type hull and equipped with a disconnectable turret mooring system designed by SBM Offshore, will be moored in a water depth of around 2,500m and have the capacity to store approximately 950,000 barrels of crude oil.  

SBM Offshore noted that this award complements the 2023 transportation and installation contract for both the FSO and the floating production unit. 

Located 180km off the Mexican coastline and 30km south of the US/Mexico maritime border, the Trion project is a collaboration between Woodside, holding a 60% stake and serving as the operator, and Mexico’s national oil company Pemex with a 40% non-operating stake. 

Following the final investment decision for the Trion project in June 2023, Woodside received approval from the Mexican regulator, Comision Nacional de Hidrocarburos, for its field development plan in August 2023.  

The project's estimated total capital expenditure stands at $7.2bn, marking it as Mexico's first deepwater development at this depth. 

Pemex discovered the Trion field in 2012 and an agreement for its development was signed with BHP Petroleum in 2017, which later merged with Woodside.  

The field is expected to commence operations in 2028, with production anticipated to peak in 2031.  

It is projected to yield around 479 million barrels of oil equivalent and continue production until reaching its economic limit in 2071. 

In March, Woodside Energy awarded Subsea7 a 'large contract' to provide subsea installation services for the Trion project.