SBM Offshore and Technip Energies’ STS joint venture and TotalEnergies EP Suriname have signed an agreement with French maritime technology company Beyond the Sea to develop and test a wind-assisted towing system for the GranMorgu FPSO, according to SBM Offshore.
The 15 July 2026 agreement targets what would be the first application of kite-assisted towing to an FPSO. The partners plan to install the automated SeaKite 2400 system before the unit is towed from its construction site in China to Suriname.
Depending on wind conditions, the system can deploy a 400-square-metre or 800-square-metre kite to add traction, potentially shortening the voyage and cutting fuel use.
The programme starts with technology development and qualification, cost analysis, operational-readiness work and intensive onshore testing. Installation in China and later stages remain conditional on predefined technical and safety criteria. The launch and recovery system will also be tested, while operational data will support digital modelling and future system sizing.
SBM Offshore technology director Laurent Le Touze said the project would assess whether wind assistance could support “lower-carbon and more energy-efficient offshore logistics”.
GranMorgu project director Frédéric Beys said energy efficiency was “a constant driver in our developments”.
GranMorgu lies in Block 58, about 150 kilometres off Suriname. The $10.5bn development is due on stream in 2028. Its spread-moored FPSO is designed for 220,000 barrels per day of oil, up to 500m cubic feet per day of associated gas and storage of about 2m barrels in roughly 400 metres of water.
The design includes an all-electric drive, no routine flaring and associated-gas reinjection. SBM Offshore and Technip Energies are building and installing the unit, using Technip Energies’ topsides engineering and modularisation capabilities and SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward hull. Technip Energies classifies its topsides contract as worth more than €1bn ($1.15bn at the European Central Bank’s 16 July reference rate).
SBM Offshore is a floating production infrastructure designer, builder, installer and operator with more than 8,000 employees.
Technip Energies is an engineering and technology contractor active in 34 countries with about 16,000 staff. STS JV is their jointly formed venture.
TotalEnergies is an integrated energy company employing more than 100,000 people in about 120 countries, while TotalEnergies EP Suriname is the party named in the agreement and holds 40% of GranMorgu.