Korea’s ‘Big 3’ Shipbuilders compete for Lucrative Libyan Gas Project Contract

Korea’s Top Shipbuilders Vie for Over $3 Trillion Offshore Platform Contract in Libya’s Zone E Gas Field

A heated bidding competition is underway for the offshore plant Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) project related to Libya’s major offshore gas field development project, unveiled after 20 years, with all three domestic shipbuilding companies participating. The offshore platform to be constructed is valued at over 3 billion dollars.According to industry sources on Feb. 3, all of Korea’s Big 3 shipbuilders—HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries—have been included in the final shortlist of EPCI contractors for the development of Zone E under ‘Structures A&E,’ a large-scale offshore gas development project promoted by the Libyan government. The project centers on constructing a fixed wellhead platform (WHP) weighing approximately 90,000 tons in Zone E off the coast of Libya.

Of the total project cost of $8 billion, the budget allocated for Zone E offshore platform construction is estimated at $3 to 4 billion.

Structures A&E is a project promoted by Mellitaoil&Gas, a joint venture between Libya’s National Oil Corporation and Italian energy company ENI, aimed at developing two Libyan offshore gas fields to expand local gas supply and European export volumes. The Zone E platform that domestic shipbuilders are targeting is located 130 kilometers from Libya’s northwestern coast and includes WHP for gas drilling and production, as well as facilities for separation, compression, and processing.

Zone E development, which originally aimed to begin gas production this year, has faced continuous schedule delays but has recently gained momentum. According to Upstream, a specialized maritime and shipping media outlet, the project owner is currently conducting final reviews of EPCI procurement strategies and prequalification assessments of candidate companies have entered the final stage.

The final shortlist reportedly includes Korea’s three major shipbuilders as well as China’s largest offshore plant equipment company CIMC Raffles, Indian infrastructure conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, and the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned engineering company NMDC Energy.

If Korea’s shipbuilding industry succeeds in securing EPCI contracts for Libya’s offshore gas field project, rapid growth can be expected in the offshore plant sector, which has recently slowed. Last year, the three shipbuilders achieved strong performance in the commercial vessel sector despite the global slowdown in new ship orders, but showed disappointing results in the offshore plant sector.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries received $133 million in offshore plant orders last year, falling far short of the target ($1.884 billion) set at the beginning of the year. Hanwha Ocean also only secured orders for one offshore plant. Samsung Heavy Industries failed to achieve its offshore plant order target last year as contracts for the US Delfin Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) and Coral FLNG projects were delayed.

Korean shipbuilders have actually announced they will actively work to improve performance in the high-value offshore plant sector when presenting this year’s order targets. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries set an offshore plant order target of $3.259 billion for this year, significantly exceeding last year’s target ($1.884 billion).

Samsung Heavy Industries presented an order target of $13.9 billion for this year and is reportedly negotiating for more than five FLNG projects. An industry official said, “We expect increased demand for offshore plant orders this year as offshore oil and gas development projects gain momentum worldwide,” adding, “This will be a good opportunity for shipbuilders seeking to enhance profitability through high-value vessel types.”

Source: BusinessKorea