STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, said Friday that it has signed a 480 billion ($430 million) contract to build an offshore oil storage facility.

Under the deal with a North African oil firm, the South Korean shipbuilder will construct the so-called floating storage offloading unit and deliver the unit during the first half of 2015, the company said in a statement. STX Offshore did not reveal the name of the buyer.

The unit, measuring 324 meters long and 51 meters wide, will be able to store up to 1.5 million barrels of crude oil, according to STX Offshore.

The FSO is designed to process and store oil or natural gas and can be maneuvered to serve different locations.

STX Offshore has won orders valued at $5.4 billion so far this year to build a total of 89 ships. (Yonhap News)