FPSO construction starts in China for Angola's ultra-deepwater development
What happened
Construction has started on the FPSO topside for Azule Energy’s Greater PAJ development following a recent FID. The steel‑cutting event and awarded subsea scopes to Saipem and TechnipFMC move fabrication and pipeline/flowline work into execution, making slot bookings and transport windows operational constraints. Watch whether fabrication and pipelay slot bookings compress supplier calendars and shorten RFx validity across pipelay and flexibles markets
Why the category manager should care
Treat Greater PAJ as a confirmed load on global pipelay and flexible flowline capacity; factor this into RFx timing, mobilisation clauses and supplier calendar checks
Key facts
- Topside steel cutting started at Haiyang yard (fabrication start)
- Development ties multiple fields into one FPSO with extensive subsea tiebacks
- Saipem and TechnipFMC awarded major pipeline and flexible flowline/riser scopes