Dutch floating offshore company SBM Offshore has partnered with several Asian shipyards to build the hull and topside modules for a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit for TotalEnergies’ Venus project in Namibian waters.
Venus will be Namibia’s first ultra-deepwater project to reach a Final Investment Decision (FID) and is also one of the most technically complex FPSO developments in the world today.
Currently, SBM is competing with South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean to secure one of the industry’s most attractive contracts before the final investment decision is made. It is reported that the final investment decision could be made as early as July, with first oil expected in 2030–2031, in line with the current average development cycle for global deepwater projects (4–5 years).
Located in Oil Exploration License Block 56, with water depths reaching 3,000 meters, the Venus project was discovered in early 2022, marking the start of development in the Orange Basin. Subsequently, Galp Energia, Shell, and Rhino Resources also made new discoveries in neighboring blocks. TotalEnergies aims to keep development and production costs below $20 per barrel to ensure commercial viability, while limiting the FPSO’s emissions intensity to approximately 15 kilograms of CO₂ equivalent per barrel.
SBM’s Venus project plan utilizes a standard FPSO hull built at Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding in Shanghai, with the topside modules constructed by two Chinese contractors. Specifically, China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) will build 14 modules (totaling 16,000 metric tons), while Bomesc will build 8 modules (totaling 17,000 metric tons). Once the modules are completed, CMHI will assemble the hull and modules at its Haimen facility.
The proposed FPSO will have a crude oil production capacity of 160,000 barrels per day, a crude oil storage capacity of 2 million barrels, and a gas processing capacity of 550 million cubic feet per day. The project plans to develop up to 40 wells—20 subsea production wells and 20 gas injection wells. Drilling operations are expected to begin approximately 18 months after the final investment decision and continue for up to four years. Reservoir fluids will be transported to the FPSO, where crude oil will be stored and shipped off by shuttle tankers; most of the gas will be reinjected into the reservoir, with a portion used to generate power on board the FPSO. The field’s production life is estimated at 21 years, but may be extended by 10 years.
SBM has a long-standing partnership with TotalEnergies and is currently collaborating with Technip Energies to build a fully electric FPSO for TotalEnergies’ Gran Morgu oil field development project in Suriname. In addition, in March 2026, the project operator, ExxonMobil, awarded the contract to SBM Offshore. SBM is also deeply involved in supplying an FPSO for ExxonMobil’s Guyana deepwater project and is leveraging that experience to accelerate progress on the Namibia project. Currently, Hanwha Ocean has disclosed limited information regarding its supply chain arrangements; earlier this year, it submitted a revised commercial bid simultaneously with SBM.
