NYK announced plans to invest jointly with the Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) in the chartering, operation, and maintenance of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel in the Stones project. The Stones project is an ultra-deep-sea field in the Gulf of Mexico 2,900 m below the surface and approximately 320 km off the shore of the US state of Louisiana.
The Stones project is owned and operated by Shell Offshore Inc., part of the oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell plc. NYK and MC have entered a consortium with SBM Offshore, which has been entrusted by Shell to lead the FPSO operation.
NYK currently participates in three FPSO businesses in waters off Brazil, and the consortium-owned FPSO used in this project (FPSO Turritella) will be the fourth FPSO venture for NYK. The Stones field will be the deepest an FPSO has ever operated, and to ensure safety, the vessel will make use of a turret featuring a detachable buoy that allows the vessel to turn in place during normal weather conditions and, if a heavy storm or hurricane approaches, disconnect the mooring lines and risers from the well system and sail to a safe area.
