Floating production storage and offloading

Shell Parque das Conchas (BC-10) FPSO vessel Espἰrito Santo with 100,000 boe/day processing capacity offshore Brasil. It was built by SBM in Singapore.

File:MystrasFPSO.jpg

FPSO Mystras at work off the shore of Nigeria

File:Crystal Ocean FPSO.jpg

FPSO Crystal Ocean moored at the Port of Melbourne

File:FPSO Sevan Voyageur.jpg

The circular FPSO Sevan Voyageur moored at Nymo yard at Eydehavn, Norway.

A floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore industry for the processing of hydrocarbons and for storage of produced oil. The basic design of most FPSOs encompasses a ship-shaped vessel, with processing equipment, or topsides, aboard the vessel's deck and hydrocarbon storage below in the double hull.

A FPSO vessel is designed to receive hydrocarbons produced from nearby platforms or subsea template, process them, and store oil until it can be offloaded onto a tanker or transported through a pipeline. FPSOs are preferred in frontier offshore regions as they are easy to install, and do not require a local pipeline infrastructure to export oil. FPSOs can be a conversion of an oil tanker or can be a vessel built specially for the application. A vessel used only to store oil (without processing it) is referred to as a floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO).

History

Oil has been produced from offshore locations since the late 1940s. Originally, all oil platforms sat on the seabed, but as exploration moved to deeper waters and more distant locations in the 1970s, floating production systems came to be used.

The first oil FPSO was the Shell Castellon, built in Spain in 1977.

The Sanha LPG FPSO operates offshore Angola, and is the first such vessel with complete onboard liquefied petroleum gas processing and export facilities. It can store up to 135,000 cubic meters of LPG while awaiting export tankers for offloading.

In the opposite (discharge and regasification) end of the LNG chain, the first ever conversion of a LNG carrier (Golar LNG owned Moss type LNG carrier) into an LNG floating storage and regasification unit was carried out in 2007 by Keppel shipyard in Singapore. An LNG FPSO works under the same principles an oil FPSO works under, taking the well stream and separating out the natural gas (primarily methane and ethane) and producing LNG, which is stored and offloaded. On July 29, 2009, Shell and Samsung announced an agreement to build up to 10 LNG FPSOs: Already Flex LNG has four contracts for smaller units at the same yard.

On May 20 2011, Royal Dutch Shell announced the planned development of a Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility, which will be situated 200km off the coast of Western Australia and is due for completion in around 2017. When it is finished, this will be the largest floating offshore facility. It will measure around 488m long and 74m wide, and when fully ballasted will weigh 600,000 tonnes.. It will have a total storage capacity of 436,000 cubic metres of LNG, plus LPG condensate.

Mechanisms

File:FPSO diagram.PNG

FPSO diagram

Oil produced from offshore production platforms can be transported to the mainland either by pipeline or by tanker. When a tanker is chosen to transport the oil, it is necessary to accumulate oil in some form of storage tank such that the oil tanker is not continuously occupied during oil production, and is only needed once sufficient oil has been produced to fill the tanker. At this point the transport tanker connects to the stern of the storage unit and offloads oil.

In the early days, the storage units consisted of decommissioned oil tankers, which were stripped down and equipped with process/production facilities (becoming therefore FPSOs), and were connected to a permanent mooring point. Today, there are two main types of FPSOs, those built converting an existing oil tanker, and those that are purpose-built. The FPSO design will depend on the area of operation. In benign waters the FPSO may have a simple box shape or it may be a converted tanker. Generally (but not always) the production lines (risers) are connected to a major component of the vessel, called a Turret, which allows the vessel to rotate in order to head into the wind and reduce environmental forces on the moorings. In relatively calm waters, such as in West Africa, turrets can be located externally to the ship structure, hanging off the bow of the FPSO. For harsher environments like the North Sea, the turret is generally located internally. The turrets and the mooring systems can be designed to be disconnectible or to remain permanently moored. Most ship-shaped FPSOs in the North Sea are purpose-built and are permanently moored.

While most FPSOs are ship-shaped, some FPSOs have a semi-submersible type hull with storage (very rare), or have a cylindrical hull (see Sevan Marine). The inherent symmetry of these FPSO configurations makes turrets unnecessary, so the platforms remain in a fixed orientation.

An FPSO has the capability to carry out some form of separation process. If the unit does not have such facilities, it is generally referred to as a Floating Storage and Offloading unit (see below), and would be operated in conjunction with a production platform. Process plant on FPSO is a core component on facility and forms a key part of production process. Production is usually conducted in 3 phases 1 Separation of Gas. 2 Separation of Water. 3 Separation of oil. Gas recovered/separated during production may be used as fuel on Marine energy resource units ( MRU) fitted on board. Gas may be flared off in some cases if MRU is not fitted. Water separation may be carried out using Dehydrators or Hydro Cyclones

Advantages

Floating production, storage and offloading vessels are particularly effective in remote or deepwater locations where seabed pipelines are not cost effective. FPSOs eliminate the need to lay expensive long-distance pipelines from the oil well to an onshore terminal. They can also be used economically in smaller oil fields which can be exhausted in a few years and do not justify the expense of installing a pipeline. Once the field is depleted, the FPSO can be moved to a new location. In areas of the world subject to cyclones (northwestern Australia) or icebergs (Canada), some FPSOs are able to release their mooring/riser turret and steam away to safety in an emergency. The turret sinks beneath the waves and can be reconnected later.

Specific types

A floating storage and offloading unit (FSO) is a floating storage device, which is a simplified FPSO without the capability for oil or gas processing. Most FSOs are old single hull supertankers that have been converted. An example is Knock Nevis, ex Seawise Giant, the world's largest ship, which had been converted to an FSO to be used offshore Qatar.

At the other end of the LNG logistics chain, where the natural gas is brought back to ambient temperature and pressure, ships may also be used as FSRUs. A LNG floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is a floating storage and regasification system, which receives liquefied natural gas (LNG) from offloading LNG carriers, and the onboard regasification system provides natural gas send-out through flexible risers and pipeline to shore. Mooring systems for FSO, FPSO & FSU units are available in market which allow the vessel to be moored on a ice sheet. Ice sheet used for mooring this case may be located below th ice sheet under water.

Vessels

Records

File:20070616-EN-FPSO Firenze-016.JPG

FPSO Firenze moored at Hellenic Shipyards, 2007

The FPSO operating in the deepest water depth is the Espirito Santo FPSO from Shell America operated by Brazilian Deepwater Production Ltd (a joint venture between MISC Bhd and SBM Offshore). The FPSO is moored at a depth of 1,800 m in the Campos Basin, Brazil and is rated for 100,000 bpd. The EPCI contract was awarded in November 2006 and first oil was achieved in July 2009. The FPSO conversions and internal turret were done at Keppel Shipyard Tuas in Singapore and the topsides were fabricated in modules at Dynamac and BTE in Singapore.

The world's largest FPSO is the Kizomba A, with a storage capacity of 2.2 million barrels (350,000 m³). Built at a cost of over US$800 million by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, Korea, it is operated by Esso Exploration Angola (ExxonMobil). Located in 1200 meters (3,940 ft) of water at Deepwater block 200 statute miles (320 km) offshore in the Atlantic Ocean from Angola, Central Africa, it weighs 81,000 tonnes and is 285 meters long, 63 meters wide, and 32 meters high (935 ft by 207 ft (63 m) by 105 ft).

The first FSO in the Gulf of Mexico, The FSO Ta'Kuntah, has been in operation since August 1998. The FSO is under a service agreement with PEMEX Exploration and Production. MODEC owns and operates the FSO. The FSO Ta'Kuntah was installed as part of the Cantarell Field Development in the Gulf of Mexico. The field is located in the Bay of Campeche, offshore Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The FSO Ta'Kuntah is a converted ULCC tanker with a SOFEC external turret mooring system, two flexible risers connected in a lazy-S configuration between the turret and a pipeline end manifold (PLEM) on the seabed, and a unique offloading system. The FSO is designed to handle 800,000 BOPD with no allowance for downtime.

The world's smallest FPSO is the Crystal Ocean, operating in 137 m of water in the Bass Strait between Australia and Tasmania on the Basker Manta Field. It is leased by Roc Oil (Sydney-based international petroleum exploration and production company) from Rubicon Offshore and is operated on their behalf by AGR Asia Pacific; it is currently producing 5,000 bpd.

The FPSO in the shallowest water depth of just 13 m is the Armada Perkasa in the Okoro field in Nigeria, West Africa, for Afren Energy. This spread moored (fixed orientation) vessel uses 100 mm, 150 mm and 200 mm bore DeepFlex non-steel flexible risers in a double lazy wave formation (with weights and distributed buoyancy) to accommodate the large motion offsets in an environment of extreme waves and currents.

The Skarv FPSO, developed and engineered by Aker Solutions for BP Norge, will be the most advanced and largest FPSO deployed in the Norwegian Sea, offshore Mid Norway. Skarv is a gas condensate and oil field development. The development will tie in five sub-sea templates, and the FPSO has capacity to include several smaller wells nearby in the future. The process plant on the vessel can handle about 19 MSm3/d (670 MScf/d) of gas and 13,500 Sm3/d of oil (85,000 bbl/d). An 80 km gas export pipe will tie in to Åsgard transport system. Aker Solutions (formerly Aker Kvaerner) developed the front-end design for the new floating production facility as well as the overall system design for the field and preparation for procurement and project management of the total field development. The hull is an Aker Solutions proprietary "Tentech^tm975" design. BP also selected Aker Solutions to perform the detail engineering, procurement and construction management assistance (EPcma) for the Skarv field development. The EPcma contract covers detail engineering and procurement work for the FPSO topsides as well as construction management assistance to BP including hull and topside facilities. The production start for the field is scheduled for August 2011. BP awarded the contract for fabrication of the Skarv FPSO hull to Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea and the Turret contract to SBM. The FPSO has a length of 292m, breadth of 50.6m and is 29m deep and accommodate 100 people in single cabins. The hull will be delivered in January 2010.

In July 2011, Shell announced the world's largest FPSO, scheduled to come on stream in 2017.

Current FPSOs

Data on operating FPSOs is reported each year in an annual survey.

FPSO Vessel Name	Oilfield	Current Location	Field Operator	Newbuild or Conversion	Startup year	Vessel Designer /Operator
Abo FPSO	Abo	Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria	Agip	Conversion	2003	Prosafe
Agbami FPSO	Nigeria		Star Deep Water Petroleum	Newbuild	2008	Chevron
Akpo FPSO	Akpo	Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria	Total	Newbuild	2009	Total
Al Zaafarana FPSO	Warda	Gulf of Suez, Egypt	Aker Solutions	Conversion	1994	Gemsa Petroleum Co
Anasuria FPSO	Teal, Teal South, Guillemot A	North Sea, UK	Shell	Newbuild	1996
Anoa Natuna	Anoa Field, Natuna Sea	Indonesia	Premier Oil		1990	Premier Oil,KN, Natuna Sea BV
Aoka Mizu	Ettrick	North Sea, UK	Nexen		2009	Bluewater Energy Services
Arco Ardjuna FSO	Ardjuna Oil Field	West Java Sea, Indonesia	Pertamina Hulu Energy		1973	Pertamina
Armada Perkasa	Okoro Setu	Nigeria	Afren/AMNI	Conversion	2009	Bumi Armada Berhad
Armada Perdana	Oyo	Nigeria	Allied Energy/Agip	Conversion	2010	Bumi Armada Berhad
Åsgard A	Åsgard	North Sea, Norway	Statoil	Newbuild	1999
Azurite FDPSO	Azurite	Atlantic, Republic of the Congo	Murphy Oil	Conversion	2009	Prosafe Production
Baobab Ivoirien MV10 FPSO	Baobab Field	Côte d'Ivoire	CNR International S.A.R.L.	Conversion	2005	MODEC Inc.
Belanak	Belanak Field	South Natuna Sea, Indonesia	ConocoPhillips	Newbuild	2004	KBR / J. Ray McDermott
Berge Helene(OIM Adarsh Shukla)	Chinguetti	North Atlantic Ocean, Mauretania	Woodside Petroleum	Conversion	2006
Bleo Holm	Ross, Blake, Parry	North Sea, UK	Talisman Energy	Conversion	1999	Bluewater Energy Services
Bohai Ming Zhu FPSO	Penglai19-3, China	Bohai, China	ConocoPhillips		2003	CNOOC
Bonga FPSO	Bonga	Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria	Shell	Newbuild	2005	Samsung Heavy Industries
Brasil FPSO	Roncador	Campos Basin, Brazil	Petrobras	Conversion	2002	SBM Offshore
Bunga Kertas FPSO	North Lukut & Penara	South China Sea, Peninsula Malaysia	Petronas Carigali	Conversion	2004	DPS/FPSO Ventures
Capixaba FPSO	Golfinho	Espírito Santo Basin, Brazil	Petrobras	Conversion	2006	SBM Offshore
Captain FPSO	Captain	North Sea, UK	Chevron	Newbuild	1996
Cidade de Niteroi	Jabuti, Brazil	Santos Basin, Brazil	MODEC (for Petrobras)	Conversion	2009	MODEC Inc.
Cidade do Rio de Janeiro MV14 FPSO	Espadarte Sul Field	Campos Basin, Brazil	Petrobras	Conversion	2007	MODEC Inc.
Cidade de Vitoria FPSO	Golfinho II	Espírito Santo Basin, Brazil	Petrobras	Conversion	2007	Saipem
Cossack Pioneer	Cossack, Wanaea	Indian Ocean, Australia	Woodside Petroleum	Conversion	1995
Cuulong MV9 FPSO	Su Tu Den Field	Vietnam	Cuulong Joint Operating Company (CLJOC)	Newbuild	2003	MODEC Inc.
Dalia FPSO	Dalia	South Atlantic Ocean, Angola	Total	Newbuild	2006	Total
Dhirubhai 1	MA-D6	Bay of Bengal, India	Reliance Industries Limited	Conversion	2008	AFP
Erha	OPL 209	Gulf of Benin, Nigeria	ExxonMobil	Newbuild	2006
Espadarte FPSO	Espadarte	Campos Basin, Brazil	Petrobras	Conversion	2000	SBM Offshore
Espirito Santo BC-10 FPSO	Espirito Santo (BC10)	Campos Basin, Brazil	Shell Americas	Conversion	2009	SBM Offshore MISC Bhd
Espoir Ivorien	Espoir	Gulf of Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire	CNR	Conversion	2002	Prosafe
Falcon FPSO	Currently none	Johor River, Malaysia	ExxonMobil	Conversion		SBM Offshore
Farwah	Al-Jurf	Mediterranean, Libya	Total		2003
Four Vanguard	Woollybutt	Indian Ocean, Australia	ENI	Conversion	2003	Premuda
Gimboa FPSO	Gimboa	South Atlantic Ocean, Angola	Sonangol	Conversion	2009	Saipem
Girassol FPSO	Girassol	South Atlantic Ocean, Angola	Total	Newbuild	2001	Total
Glas Dowr	Sable	Indian Ocean, South Africa	PetroSA	Newbuild	2003	Bluewater Energy Services
Global Producer III	Dumbarton	North Sea, UK	Maersk	Newbuild	2006	Maersk
Greater Plutonio FPSO	Block 18 Greater Plutonio	South Atlantic Ocean, Angola	BP	Newbuild	2007	BP
Griffin Venture FPSO	Griffin, Chinook, Scindian	Indian Ocean, Australia	BHP Billiton	Newbuild	1994
Gryphon FPSO	Gryphon	North Sea, UK	Maersk		1993
Hæwene Brim FPSO	Pierce	North Sea, UK	Shell	Newbuild	1999	Bluewater Energy Services
Jasmine Venture MV7 FPSO	Jasmine Field	Thailand	PEARL Energy Pte Ltd.	Conversion	2004	MODEC Inc.
Jotun A	Jotun	North Sea, Norway	ExxonMobil	Newbuild	1999	Bluewater Energy Services
Kakap Natuna FPSO	Kakap KH field	Indonesia	ConocoPhillips(Kakap) Ltd.	Conversion	1986	MODEC Inc.
Kikeh	Kikeh	Sabah, Malaysia	Murphy Oil	Conversion	2007	SBM Offshore MISC Bhd
Kizomba A	Hungo, Chocalho	South Atlantic Ocean, Angola	ExxonMobil	Newbuild	2004	SBM Offshore
Kizomba B	Kissanje, Dikanza	South Atlantic Ocean, Angola	ExxonMobil	Newbuild	2005	SBM Offshore
Kuito FPSO	Kuito	Cabinda, Angola	Chevron	Conversion	1999	SBM Offshore
"Kwame Nkrumah" FPSO	Jubilee Fields	Gulf of Guinea, Ghana	Tullow Oil & Others	Conversion	2010	MODEC Inc
North Sea Producer	MacCulloch	North Sea, UK	ConocoPhillips	Conversion	1997	Maersk
Maersk Curlew	Curlew	North Sea, UK	Shell	Conversion	2002	Maersk
Marlim Sul FPSO	Marlim Sul	Campos Basin, Brazil	Petrobras	Conversion	2004	SBM Offshore
MODEC Venture 11 FPSO	Mutineer-Exeter Field	Australia	Santos Ltd.	Conversion	2005	MODEC Inc.
Mondo FPSO	Luanda, Angola	Block 15, Angola	ExxonMobil	Conversion	2008	SBM Offshore
Munin	Lufeng, Xijiang	South China Sea, China	CNOOC	Newbuild	1997	Bluewater Energy Services
MV8 Langsa Venture FPSO	Langsa field	Malacca Strait, Indonesia	MEDCO MOECO Langsa Ltd.	Conversion	2001	MODEC Inc.
Mystras FPSO	Okono, Okpoho	Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria	Agip	Conversion	2004	Saipem
Nganhurra FPSO	Enfield	Exmouth Sub-basin, Australia	Woodside Petroleum	Newbuild	2006
Maersk Ngujima-Yin FPSO	Vincent	Exmouth Sub-basin, Australia	Woodside Petroleum	Conversion	2008	Maersk
Norne FPSO	Norne	North Sea, Norway	Statoil	Newbuild	1997
Northern Endeavour	Laminaria, Corallina	Timor Sea, Indonesia	Woodside Petroleum	Newbuild	1999;	Kvaerner/SBM;
Perintis	MASA field	South China Sea, Peninsular Malaysia	Petronas Carigali	Conversion	1999	Aker Kvaerner/M3Nergy;
Petrojarl Banff	Banff	North Sea, UK	CNR	Newbuild	1999	Teekay Petrojarl;
Petrojarl Foinaven	Foinaven	North Atlantic, UK	BP	Conversion	1997	Teekay Petrojarl
Petrojarl I	Glitne oilfield	North Sea, Norway	Statoil	Newbuild	2001	Teekay Petrojarl
Petrojarl Varg	Varg	North Sea, Norway	Talisman Energy	Newbuild	1999	Teekay Petrojarl
Pertroleo Nautipa FPSO	Etame	South Atlantic Ocean, Gabon	Vaalco Energy	Conversion	2002	Fred Olsen Production, Prosafe
Polvo FPSO	Polvo	South Atlantic Ocean, Brazil	Devon Energy	Conversion	2007	Prosafe
Rang Dong 1	Rang Dong	South China Sea, Vietnam	JVPC, Nippon Oil	Conversion	1998	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Raroa II	Maari	Tasman Sea, New Zealand	OMV	Conversion	2008
Ruby Princess FPSO	Ruby	South China Sea, Vietnam	Petrovietnam	Conversion	1998	Prosafe
Ruby II FPSO	Ruby	South China Sea, Vietnam	Petronas Carigali Vietnam Ltd	Conversion	2010	MISC Bhd
Sanha LPG FPSO	Angola		Chevron	Newbuild	2005	Chevron
Saxi-Batuque FPSO	Luanda, Angola	Block 15, Angola	ExxonMobil	Conversion	2008	SBM Offshore
Schiehallion FPSO	Schiehallion	North Atlantic, UK	BP	Newbuild	1998	Harland & Wolff
Sea Eagle FPSO	EA	Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria	Shell	Newbuild	2003
SeaRose FPSO	White Rose	Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Canada	Husky Energy	Newbuild	2005
Seillean FPSO	Cachalote	Esprito Santo Basin, Brazil	Petrobras but built for BP	Newbuild	1986	Noble Corporation
Serpentina FPSO	Zafiro	Gulf of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea	Exxonmobil	Conversion	2003	SBM Offshore
Skarv FPSO	Skarv and Idun	North Sea, Norway	BP	Newbuild	2011	BP
Song Doc MV19 FPSO	Song Doc Field	Vietnam	Truong Son Joint Operating Company (TSJOC)	Conversion	2008	MODEC Inc.
Stybarrow MV16 FPSO	Stybarrow Field	Exmouth Sub-basin, Australia	BHP Billiton Petroleum	Newbuild	2007	MODEC Inc.
Terra Nova	Terra Nova	Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Canada	Suncor	Newbuild	2002
Triton	Bittern, Guillemot West, Guillemot Northwest	North Sea, UK	Amerada Hess	Newbuild	2000
Uisge Gorm FPSO	Fife, Fergus, Flora, Angus	North Sea, UK	Amerada Hess	Conversion	1995	Bluewater Energy Services
Umuroa FPSO	Tui	Tasman Sea, New Zealand	Australian Worldwide Exploration	Conversion	2007	APS/Prosafe Production
Xikomba FPSO	Xikomba	Block 15, Angola	ExxonMobil	Conversion	2003	SBM Offshore
Yunus FSO	BDR3	Mediterranean	Syriah & N.T.J. Group	Conversion	1998	Syriah & NTJ Group
Yúum K'ak'náab FPSO	Ku-Maloob-Zaap field	Gulf of Mexico	PEMEX	Newbuild	1998	BW Offshore AS, Norway

Designers & Builders

• Acergy
• Aibel [1]
• Aker Solutions [2][3][4]
• Bluewater [5][6]
• BW Offshore [7]
• Chicago Bridge & Iron [8]
• Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) [9]
• Hyundai Heavy Industries
• KBR
• Keppel Shipyard[10]
• Lamprell Energy[11]
• Larsen & Toubro
• London Floating Production Ltd
• London Marine Consultants Ltd
• MISC Bhd [12]
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
• Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (MES) [13]
• MODEC Inc. [14]
• NORTECHS FPSO [15]
• Oceaneering International Services [16]
• Saipem [17]
• SBM Offshore[18]
• Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) [19]
• Sevan Marine [20]
• Tanker Pacific Offshore Terminals Pte Ltd [21]
• Technip [22]
• Kavin Engineering And Services Private Limited [23]
• WorleyParsons [24]
• Saipem Triune Engineering Pvt. Ltd., India [25]

External links

• FPSO Seillean FPSO Seillean - the World's first DP production vessel - BP SWOPS
• Auld Alliance Trading FPSO Services FPSO Services - Auld Alliance FPSO production services
• "FPSO World Fleet". 2004. http://www.fpso.net/. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
• Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Installations at the United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association
  • FPSO's FAQ's at the United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association
• FPSOs at the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service - Gulf of Mexico OCS Region
• FPSO pages at Offshore-Technology
  • "Skarv FPSO
  • Kizomba
  • Petrojarl 1
  • Terra Nova
  • White Rose
• FPSO pages at Ship-Technology
  • Anasuria
  • Bonga
  • Ramform Banff
  • Searose
• 2010 Worldwide Survey of FPSO Vessels by Mustang Engineering for Offshore Magazine