The fabrication business for floating production, storage and offloading vessels, long dominated by Singapore and South Korea, has established a strong foothold in China, where the wide availability of lower-cost labour and markedly improved engineering and yard capacities have been a boon to local yards.

Chinese shipyards are packed with orders for FPSOs destined for Brazil and Guyana as they are now better positioned than most of their Asian counterparts to respond to subcontracting requirements offered by leading engineering, procurement and construction contractors such as Modec of Japan and SBM of Holland.