Bouygues Offshore: Floating LNG Plants Can be Built.

Business Editors

MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2001

Bouygues Offshore (NYSE:BWG) (Paris Bourse:BOS.) announced the successful completion of the AZURE R&D project for the development of floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities concepts.

Bouygues Offshore was leader of a consortium of 9 European companies including M.W. Kellogg Ltd (MWKL), Chantiers de l'Atlantique, Fincantieri, FMC Europe, Gaz Transport & Technigaz (GTT; 30% owned by Bouygues Offshore), Bureau Veritas (BV), Registro Italiano Navale (RINA) and Institut de Recherches de la Construction Navale (IRCN). Five international oil and gas companies gave their technical and financial support to the project: Shell, TotalFinaElf, Chevron, Texaco and Conoco.

This innovative project was performed with the support of the European Union's Thermie program. Its objective was to address all technical issues in order to demonstrate that a fully floating LNG chain, from gas well to gas distribution network, is a safe and viable industrial proposal. The 18-month work program called for designing floating liquefaction plants, floating LNG terminals and offshore LNG transfer systems. It included thorough testing of all the key components of the chain. The cryogenic storages are based on a membrane containment system, proposed by Technigaz (a wholly owned subsidiary of Bouygues Offshore) and GTT.

For the liquefaction barge, two different scenarios were developed by MWKL. In South East Asia, a stand-alone gas field involving a 3 MMTPA capacity, based on a dual mixed refrigerant process cycle and in West Africa, a single processing train, involving a 1 MMTPA capacity with a nitrogen expander cycle for the liquefaction of the associated gas for a deep sea oil field.

The design for the floating receiving terminal located in Southern Europe was developed by Fincantieri, while the SN Technigaz regasification process was based on submerged combustion vaporisers with a LNG storage capacity of 200,000 m3.

The transfer of LNG in open seas can be performed safely in a tandem loading configuration, using the Boom-To-Tanker designed by FMC. A large scale model of this device was successfully tested, using motion data from basin tests.

The project included both steel and concrete hull designs for the LNG FPSO. Chantiers de l'Atlantique developed the steel hull options, while Bouygues Offshore designed the concrete hull alternative.

Safety assessment of the various facilities of the floating LNG chain was performed under the supervision of BV and RINA. The necessary safety criteria can be met by combining current engineering practices from the offshore industry with those of onshore LNG terminals.

Advanced computer tools were developed by IRCN to address the liquid motion of the slack LNG storage tanks. It was found that sloshing was not an issue and this was confirmed by testing performed by GTT (liquid motion tests and impact testing on membranes).

These latest developments are further evidence of the Company's commitment - and its subsidiary SN Technigaz - to its offshore LNG concepts either on floating barges or on Gravity Based Structures.

From design engineering to start-up and maintenance, Bouygues Offshore provides its customers with turnkey projects in offshore-onshore oil and gas contracting, liquefied gases, maritime and river works and chemicals-refining/energy-industry. Further information on the company can be found on line at www.bouygues-offshore.com.

Driven by a strong commitment to the energy industry, an on-the-spot presence and a team of talented professionals, we deliver solutions that are safe, innovative and promote the success of our clients and our Company.