The official naming ceremony of FPSO BW Pioneer took place in Singapore on 26 October

The official naming ceremony of FPSO BW Pioneer took place in Singapore today, 26 October, in the presence of approximately 250 guests, including top managements from Petrobras, Keppel Shipyard and BW Offshore.
BW Offshore was selected by Petrobras America Inc in 2007 for the conversion, installation and operation of an FPSO for the Cascade & Chinook fields in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM).
The FPSO, named BW Pioneer, is scheduled to arrive in US waters in January 2010, and be ready for operation during first quarter the same year. Through BW Offshore’s technology division APL, the project has also included the delivery and installation of a disconnectable Submerged Turret Production Buoy (STP) including fluid swivel and the appurtenant mooring system.  This first BW Offshore contract with Petrobras is for a total of up to eigth years including option periods of up to three years.
BW Pioneer is the first FPSO in the US GoM, and it will be installed on a water depth of 2,600 meters, the deepest water ever for an FPSO installation.

The APL STP technology is the world's leading disconnectable turret system with an unparalleled track record of more than 1,500 disconnect/connect operations, enabling the FPSO to disconnect from its moorings and seek sheltered waters in a hurricane situation with minimum disruption to operations. This represents the deepest application to date for the STP system. The installation of the STP buoy was completed by the end of August 2009.
 
With the deployment of BW Pioneer BW Offshore will be noticeably represented in the greater Americas region.  BW Offshore is present in both the US and Mexican portions of the Gulf of Mexico, in the Tupi field offshore Brazil with BW Cidade de São Vincente, and, recently BW Offshore was awarded the Letter of Intent for a joint venture on the Brazilian Papa Terra field in 2012.
BW Offshore’s FPSO/FSO fleet also includes operations in other parts of the world, including West-Africa and Russia.