Construction work on a world record-breaking floating production storage and offloading vessel for the petroleum industry -- also known as an FPSO -- has started at CMG Haimen’s shipyard in Haimen, Nantong, in eastern Jiangsu province, according to local media reports.

The offshore petroleum floating production storage and offloading vessel, developed by China Merchants Group, will be delivered to Dutch-based SBM Offshore, the world’s leading FPSO operator.

According to the shipyard the FPSO will have an oil storage capacity of 2.2 million barrels of crude oil. CMG Haimen said that with a total length of 333 meters, a width of 60 m, a depth of 33 m and a displacement of 460,000 tons, the ship is a new-type offshore oil floating storage vessel with the largest tonnage and crude oil storage capacity in the world.

The total cost of the ship is $1.2 billion. It is expected to be delivered by the end of January 2021.

A model of the new record-breaking FPSO [Photo/Wechat account of Haimen Toutiao]

An illustration shows how the FPSO will operate. [Photo/Wechat account of Haimen Toutiao]