Analysis of the rapidly growing mobile offshore production system (MOPS) market provides a revealing statistical description of technical fleet characteristics and commercial/contractual approaches toward ownership and operation of MOPS units. Based on a proprietary database of existing and planned MOPS units, in-house studies, and a review of published sources, this analysis correlates fleet technical and commercial data with the characteristics and requirements of various field applications and geographical areas. Current MOPS market trends are illustrated by reviewing units recently installed or under construction. MOPS unit design and key component technologies are becoming more mature, but applications continue to show a high degree of innovation and further development of some components is needed to extend MOPS use into very deep water. Future applications will likely reinforce the present trend toward FPSOS and provide increasing opportunity for broader contractor participation, responsibility and ownership. The MOPS market will remain vital and expanding into the next century and will continue to be characterized by a diversity of technical solutions and commercial arrangements. Introduction Mobile offshore production systems (MOPS) constitute the most rapidly expanding segment of the worldwide offshore field development market. The expansion in MOPS applications that began several years ago and is still accelerating is being accompanied by great vitality in technical advancements and commercial arrangements, as well as by the entry of many new participants into the market. And while rapid growth is always disorderly and confusing, the MOPS market is beginning to mature in certain respects as the relative merits of various technical solutions and commercial arrangements are sorted out. It is no longer necessary for an offshore operator contemplating use of a MOPS to approach the selection process by reinventing the wheel. It is, however, still necessary to define what is included in the MOPS category when presenting analytical results, since different investigators hold different assumptions. For this study, mobile offshore production systems include all readily movable vessels or structures that are directly engaged in the production and/or processing of oil at an offshore field location, This MOPS universe thus includes ship-shaped monohull floating production, storage and offloading systems (FPSOS), semisubmersible-based floating production systems (FPSS), and jackup production units (JPUS). The five existing and two newbuilding TLPs and the two Spar units on order are omitted from specific consideration as having more in common with fixed bottom-founded platforms than with MOPS and in being owned exclusively by oil companies. The first TLP will conclude its 12th year of service at Hutton field this year with no indication that it will be redeployed any time soon. if operators begin toselect some of the mini-TLP designs for actual applications, these units would fit our conception of a MOPS.

and d o a d oil fiom subsea wells in water depths ranging roughly This paper m s prepared tw pmnnWjon at tha 1887 Omhom Technoh~~ Confemnm held in Houston, Texas. 5-8 May 1887. h m 430 to 875 feet. Furthermore, the FPSO was required to be o~erational in the field less than one year h m authorization for T h h p a w m a nlected tw pn+nmt#n by tha OTC P r q~ C o m m b (dkuving W ot information m i n e d in an akb.ct submtbd by the avlhor(s). Conbrnb d tha pepor, u ebendihlres. The project required conventional methods of presented, haw not k e n r w h d by the Omhom Technology Confannos and a n subject to mcsdion byhs.rr(hor(s). The material. u pmaented. dosr not n-ri l y foiled any position project management because such a conversion would normally of tha ~hhors ~echnology Contennos or L of~ico~. ~~ectmnic o prod^, d l m i m , or require approximately 18 months to complete. MEGI awarded a 8tofags cf my part d this p e w tw eannmcial p u m wiltmi the Mtm conwnt cf the O m h m Technology ~onte-ia prohibited. ~ermh*on to nproduca in print ia rsrbictsd to turnkey contract for the supply and operation of the FPSO to an abstract cf not mom than 500 wwds; Illudmt#ns may not b. copbd. The abcb.ct mud contain conspicuous ackmw~gment cf whom and by nmom tha paper m s pmwnbd.Oceaneering Production Systems (OPS) of Houston, Texas. AbstractThis paper describes the design, conversion and installation of a large FPSO as an integral element in the fast-track development of the Zafiro field offshore Equatorial Guinea. The FPSO, Zafiro Producer, was a key part of the critical path associated with achieving the overall goal set by Mobil Equatorial Guinea, Inc.: to begin production within 18 months of drilling the Zafiro 1 discover well. Effectively, this required the FPSO to be operational in approximately one year f b m the start of concept e n g i n b g . As reservoir definition was still evolving, functional specifications and cldcation society's mpimnents were used to guide the &sign. However, as an added challenge, the system required maximum flexibiity for future expansion should the Zafiro field prove to have

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