Page 52: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2003)

Floating Production Systems

Outlook for Floating Production Systems

By James R. McCaul, President,

International Maritime

Associates, Inc.

Floating production has evolved to a mature technology that opens for devel- opment oil and gas reservoirs that would be otherwise impossible or uneconomic to tap. The technology enables produc- tion far beyond the depth constraints of

LO FRAMO

Cargo Offloading Pumps for FPSOs

New and recent contracts

PROJECT OPERATOR LOCATION STORAGE CAPACITY

Girassol FPSO TotalFinaElf Block 17, Angola 2.2 mill bbls

Bohai Bay QHD32-6 ChevronTexaco Bohai Bay, China 1 mill bbls

FPSO CNOOC

EA FPSO Shell Block 79, Nigeria 1.5 mill bbls

Bonga FPSO Shell Block 212, Nigeria 2 mill bbls

Amenam FSO TotalFinaElf Block 99 Nigeria 2.4 mill bbls

CPU 137B FPSO CPTL •

Libya Block 137B 1 mill bbls

Bijupira&Salema FPSO Shell Bijupira&Salema, Brasil 1 mill bbls

Block 15, Angola

Erha FPSO ExxonMobil ; Block 209, Nigeria

CFD FPSO CNOOC/Kerr McGee CFD, Bohai bay, China 1 mill bbls

Kizomba B FPSO ExxonMobil Block 15, Angola 2.2 mill bbls

Albacora Leste Petrobras Albacora Leste, Brasil 2.0 mill bbls

Bozhong FPSO CNOOC/Chevron Texaco Bozhong field, China 1 mill bbls )

Dalia FPSO TotalFinaElf Block 17, Angola 2.2 mill bbls

Baobab FPSO Modec/CNR Ivory Coast 2.0 mill bbls fixed platforms, generally considered to be 1,400 ft. (426.7 m), and provides a flexible solution for developing short- lived fields with marginal reserves and fields in remote locations where instal- lation of a fixed facility would be diffi- cult.

Types of Floaters

Floating production systems vary greatly in appearance - from ship-shape

FPSO vessels to multi hull production semis to cylindrical shaped production spars. But common to all is machinery and equipment to lift oil and gas from seabed wells and perform initial pro- cessing of the raw production. Here's a rundown of the systems in operation.

FPSO Vessels 89 FPSOs are in service, another 24 on order. Fourteen of the units on order are purpose built hulls, 10 are conversions of vintage tankers, mostly VLCCs. FPSOs are found in all offshore areas where floating produc-

Cirde 287 on Reader Service Card

Built by Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel 0&M) and due for delivery to Maersk

Contractors two weeks ahead of schedule in mid August 2003, this new generation semi- submersible rig was named LIDER at Caspian

Shipyard Company (CSC) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Capable of operating in water depths of up to 1,000 m and drill depths of up to 9,140 m,

LIDER has a variable deck load of 4,000 tons and is able to accommodate 130 people. It specifically designed to handle large depths and high formation pressures, wtftp are anticipated at the first well in the 'Zafar

Mashal structure. •