2008 Annual Report - SBM Offshore

SBM Offshore Annual Report 2008 / Overview7In support of all the above, another steady activity whichrepresents a substantial element in the Company’sbusiness is the provision of specialised services such asmaintenance, spare parts, repairs and offshore installation.This forms an essential complement to the sales of facilities,offering to clients a comprehensive and integrated service.The Company has added the LNG FPSO to its productline to respond to the expected future demand for offshoreproduction of LNG from stranded gas fields.Strategy and organisationSBM Offshore currently operates from four main executioncentres: Engineering and Project Management resourcesare located in Schiedam, Monaco, Houston and KualaLumpur with regional management supported by corporatefunctions. The operation of the leased production/storageunits is managed by region and supported from Monacoand corporate functions are located in each of Schiedam,Marly (Switzerland) and Monaco. In addition to these maincentres, the Company is present in several countries forregional marketing and sales, local management of offshoreoperations and construction activities.The Company sells or leases offshore facilities generallyby outsourcing all hardware components and constructionservices. Therefore, it does not own any manufacturingplant, construction yard or shipyard with the exceptionof a partially owned construction yard currently beingbuilt in Angola. However, it possesses in-house all theengineering, project management and offshore installationcompetencies to execute large complex systems, withouthaving to rely on external resources, except for the LNGFPSO topsides, as explained later.In respect of the Company’s activities including both thesales of facilities and the lease and operate activities, thereis a set of established and centrally controlled financialand strategic rules as well as a Group ManagementSystem defining the Company procedures. The Company’sCorporate Engineering Standards ensure a commondesign approach in the four execution centres and facilitatethe optimal use of the skills and global resources availablefor the execution of large and complex projects.The corporate culture is characterised by market-orientedtechnology innovation. SBM Offshore is a trendsetter in thedevelopment of new cost-saving solutions which optimallyrespond to clients’ changing needs. In order to protect andexpand its leading market position, it devotes significantattention to research, development, and the protectionof Intellectual Property, as well as to the management offinancial and technical risks.The ‘Normand Installer’ in action during hookup at FPSO Espirito Santo in Brazil