BW Opal Sets Sail
As in any FPSO project, sail-away marks a key milestone! Today, BW Opal officially departed the Seatrium’s flagship Tuas Boulevard Yard in Singapore, fully commissioned and ready for offshore deployment.
With 230 MW of installed power, gas processing facilities of 800 MSCFD and designed for a 25-year offshore lifespan, the BW Opal represents the culmination of years of engineering, global collaboration, and shared commitment. We extend a sincere thank you to everyone who has contributed to the development of the asset — our teams, partners, contractors, suppliers, and supporters around the world.
Preparing for sail-away
In the time leading up to the pivotal milestone that sail-away represents for any FPSO project, the asset, yard and corporate offices have been bustling with activity.
In mid-May, BW Offshore’s management team gathered in Singapore and took the opportunity to visit BW Opal ahead of sail-away. They held a session in one of the asset’s state-of-the-art meeting rooms, followed by lunch with the crew and supporting teams — providing a great opportunity to engage with the people working onboard.
Underpinning our commitment to maintaining a strong culture of safety, the pre-operations team spent a day at the corporate office at Mapletree Business City. Together with colleagues from various corporate functions, they participated in sessions focusing on culture, collaboration and safety – as well as practical information and preparations ahead of their upcoming journey.
Finally, on Saturday 24 May, BW Offshore hosted a Family Day at the yard, inviting families of employees to see the BW Opal for themselves. With its impressive hull length of 358 meters and a width of 64 meters, the asset is a remarkable sight — and for many, it was the first time seeing the scale of the project their loved ones have been part of. For our employees, sharing this moment with family was a meaningful and memorable experience.
On the morning of Wednesday 28 May, the BW Opal was ready for departure, and was expertly guided out of the bay before being handed over to the tugs who will transport the asset safely to its new home in Australia.
A special thank you to our longtime partner, Seatrium, for their contribution—supporting this project through the full integration, completion, and commissioning phase, all the way to readiness for sail-away. Their dedication has been key in preparing BW Opal for a safe and departure.
Onwards to Australia for Hook-Up and First Gas
Now that the asset has left Seatrium’s flagship Tuas Boulevard Yard, the BW Opal will be towed to the Barossa field in Northern-Australia, where hook-up operations will begin immediately upon arrival. This will be followed by the start-up phase, which includes offshore commissioning, well clean-up, and preparation for gas export which is scheduled to begin in Q3.
We wish our offshore colleagues onboard a safe journey and thank everyone supporting from shore as we enter the final stretch toward first production.
Highlights from events leading up to sail-away
