History Series - Shell Castellon - The First FPSO
Channel: Offshore, Maritime and Energy
Date: 2023-05-05

The world's first FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) was the Shell Castellon, which was commissioned in 1977. It was designed and built by Moss Rosenberg Verft in Norway and owned by Shell.

The FPSO was originally deployed in the Castellon field in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain. It was capable of producing 60,000 barrels of oil per day and storing up to 1 million barrels of oil.

The Shell Castellon was a converted tanker vessel that had been modified to accommodate the necessary production and storage facilities. It featured a turret mooring system that allowed it to rotate around a fixed point and remain stable in rough seas. It also had a number of processing facilities, including separators, pumps, and gas compressors.

The history of the Shell Castellon was relatively short-lived. It was decommissioned in 1985, after only eight years of service, due to declining production in the Castellon field. However, the success of the Shell Castellon paved the way for the widespread adoption of FPSOs in the oil and gas industry.

Today, FPSOs are used in oil fields around the world, providing a flexible and cost-effective solution for offshore oil production and storage.