On June 22, CIMC Raffles successfully signed the EPCIC project contract for the Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) of the Angola Greater PAJ Project.
This is the first time CIMC Raffles has obtained a complete EPCIC general contracting contract for a new-build FPSO project, marking an important breakthrough for CIMC Raffles in the international high-end offshore engineering general contracting field, and further consolidating CIMC Raffles’ competitiveness and industry influence in the global FPSO market.
The Final Investment Decision (FID) and signing ceremony for the Greater PAJ Project were held on June 22 in Luanda, the capital of Angola. Attendees included project operator Azule Energy, relevant project equity stakeholders, ANPG, and relevant contract signatories. Li Minggao, Vice President of CIMC Raffles Group, and Wang Haibing, Director of the Marketing Center, represented the company at the signing ceremony.
It is understood that the Greater PAJ Project is Angola’s first cross-block integrated development project, operated by Azule Energy, a joint venture established by Italian energy giant ENI and British Petroleum (BP). The development scope covers five oil fields: Palas, Astraea Central, Juno, Dione, and Urano.
The aforementioned oil fields are located in Block 31 and Block 31/21, approximately 200 kilometers off the coast of Angola, with water depths ranging from 1,500 meters to 2,000 meters. First oil production is planned for the first half of 2029.
According to the development plan, the project will construct 17 production wells, connected via subsea pipelines to a new-build FPSO. This FPSO will undertake functions such as oil and gas reception, processing, storage, and offloading. Upon commencement of operations, daily production will reach 95,000 barrels, while also possessing a natural gas processing capacity of 70 million standard cubic feet per day. The FPSO is expected to be completed and delivered in 2028.
Although neither Azule Energy nor CIMC Raffles has publicly disclosed the contract value, the market generally estimates that this EPCIC contract is worth approximately USD 1.8 billion to USD 2.0 billion (approximately RMB 12.195 billion to RMB 13.550 billion).
It is understood that the total investment in the Greater PAJ Project is approximately USD 5.1 billion (approximately RMB 34.551 billion). In addition to CIMC Raffles’ FPSO contract, Italian oil services giant Saipem secured a contract worth approximately USD 1.0 billion for subsea pipeline transportation, laying, and installation; TechnipFMC secured a contract worth between USD 75 million and USD 250 million for flexible pipes and deepwater risers; and Baker Hughes secured a contract for the supply of subsea production systems, the price of which has not been disclosed.
It is worth noting that CIMC Raffles has undertaken the general contracting work for this new-build FPSO, covering the entire FPSO hull and all topside modules, including preliminary feasibility study design, basic and detailed design, material and equipment procurement, construction, towing, as well as offshore installation and commissioning, encompassing the entire process.
EPCIC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and Commissioning) is a high-end general contracting model in the offshore engineering field, covering multiple stages including engineering design, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning. It places higher demands on the contractor’s engineering design capability, supply chain integration capability, project management capability, construction integration capability, and offshore installation and commissioning organization capability.
For CIMC Raffles, this project is a milestone. For a long time, in large international FPSO projects, CIMC Raffles primarily undertook the construction of hulls and living quarters. Since 2019, CIMC Raffles has successively delivered the hull of Petrobras’ “P-71”, hull blocks for “P-78”, and topside modules for several FPSO projects.
In recent years, CIMC Raffles has gradually transformed into a provider of overall FPSO solutions. In January 2024, CIMC Raffles delivered the Mero 3 FPSO, converted from a VLCC. This was the first FPSO conversion project in China where main hull conversion, all module construction and integration, and FPSO system commissioning were completed within the same shipyard.
However, there is an essential difference between FPSO conversion projects and new-build FPSO EPCIC projects. Conversion projects primarily rely on existing hulls for engineering integration, whereas the Greater PAJ Project requires completing the FPSO overall design, hull construction, equipment procurement, system integration, and offshore installation and commissioning from scratch. Its engineering complexity, overall design capability, and project management difficulty are all at a higher technical level.
The signing of the FPSO EPCIC contract for this Greater PAJ Project fully demonstrates the recognition by major international oil and gas companies of CIMC Raffles’ comprehensive strength, project execution capability, and delivery capability for high-end offshore engineering equipment.
CIMC Raffles has深耕 the offshore engineering fields of FPSO, FPU, FLNG, etc. for many years. On this project, it provided a one-stop solution to the client, marking the company’s business capability leap from standardized design, hull and partial module general contracting, and other independent work packages, to the integrated delivery of the entire vessel’s full chain. This not only demonstrates the enterprise’s full-process general contracting strength but also represents an important milestone in China’s high-end offshore engineering equipment general contracting field.
In the future, CIMC Raffles will continue to take the Greater PAJ Project as an opportunity, persist in its international and high-end development direction, advance project execution with high standards, complete project delivery with high quality, and contribute CIMC Raffles’ strength to global deepwater oil and gas development.
