MISC to invest $4bn as potential seen in FPSOs, shuttle tankers

The expenditure, of which 30% will be raised by equity and the remainder from bank borrowings, will be spread across its four core business segments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping; petroleum and product shipping; offshore business; and marine and heavy engineering.

The floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) and shuttle tanker businesses are slated to be allocated $500m for potential new projects and tenders, president and group ceo Yee Yang Chien was quoted as saying on the sidelines of a shareholders’ meeting.

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“We are seeing vast opportunities in tandem with the recovery in crude oil prices this year. All the future development for oil upstream production is mostly deep water, which requires FPSO and shuttle tankers,” Yee noted.

He added that allocations could even rise this year if more opportunities such as potential tenders from the North Sea and South America transpire. 

Yee noted that the oversupply situation for both LNG and petroleum tankers caused by overcapacity and Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production cuts will continue to affect growth this year.

“We do not see it to be any better this year. We are prepared for another difficult year but we look forward for future growth in 2019 and beyond,” he concluded.