The world's largest Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit, the M026 FPSO, set sail on Monday from a dock in Qidong City in east China's Jiangsu Province, setting a new tonnage towing record along the Yangtze River.
The M026 FPSO is 335.31 meters in length, 60 meters in width, and 33.515 meters in height.
The towing convoy, spanning 784.2 meters in length, comprised the M026 FPSO, along with patrol boats, tugboats, and escort vessels.
Built by COSCO (Qidong) Offshore Offshore Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., the vessel will be deployed in an ultra-deep-water oil development project in Brazil.
Known as a "floating refinery", the vessel holds the record for the largest tonnage and highest storage capacity in its class. It is designed to produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day, process 12 million standard cubic meters of natural gas, and store up to 1.4 million barrels of crude oil.
World’s largest FPSO vessel sets sail from Jiangsu
World’s largest FPSO vessel sets sail from Jiangsu
The current economic performance indicates that China's GDP is expected to grow by around five percent this year, reinforcing its role as a key engine of global economic growth, said an official of the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs.
The comments came after the annual, tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference, which was held in Beijing from Dec 11 to 12, where the key economic tasks for 2025 were laid out.
The new quality productive forces have developed steadily, with significant advancements in scientific and technological innovation, particularly in areas such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, and quantum technology. The intelligent and digital transformation of traditional industries has progressed continuously, while the pace of green and low-carbon transformation has notably accelerated, the official said.
Reform and opening-up efforts have continued to deepen, with major initiatives such as raising the retirement age and establishing a unified national market advancing at an accelerated pace. The high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative has been steadily promoted, yielding positive outcomes in terms of high-level opening-up.
Risks in key areas have been mitigated in an orderly and effective manner. A series of measures have been implemented to stabilize the real estate market, resulting in consecutive year-on-year and month-on-month increases in commercial housing sales in October and November. Efforts to address local government debt have been proactive, while risks in small and medium-sized local financial institutions have been steadily alleviated through reforms. The country has made solid efforts to ensure people's wellbeing, with stable employment and the sustained consolidation of poverty alleviation achievements.
China's 2024 economic growth expected to reach about 5 pct: official
