MODEC said it would have made a ¥3.5 billion profit, had the global COVID-19 pandemic and oil price war not pushed operators to delay major oil and gas projects and cancel or postpone contracts.

Despite the loss, revenue rose dramatically from what the company anticipated, attributable to a contract awarded by Woodside for an FPSO.

Australian gas giant Woodside was awarded the contract to provide the FPSO for its massive Sangomar oil project offshore Senegal in January this year, for delivery in 2023.

It was this contract which saw MODEC's new order revenue jump from as low as YPD ¥12 billion (A$170 million) in the first quarter of 2019 to YPD ¥159.1 billion (A$2.3 billion) for this year.

Prior to the quarter, MODEC was also given an award to provide the FPSO for the Barossa development.

Its gloomy days ahead, according to the ship provider, which revised its forecasted revenue for the remainder of the year downward due to delays in final investment decisions and the delay of EPCI projects amid the current economic uncertainty.

"Operating profit has been revised to ¥20 billion (A$288 million) operating loss due to the additional cost anticipated to increase on the premise that this (sic) situations continues until the middle of 2020," MODEC said.

It had forecast to make an overall profit of ¥170 billion.