Parque das Conchas (BC-10) FPSO Espirito Santo - An Ultra-Deepwater Heavy Oil Surface Host Facility

Abstract

The FPSO Espirito Santo represents an exciting advance in ultra deepwater technology for floating systems. The FPSO, which arrived in Brazil 25 months after project sanction, is moored and operating in 1780 meters of water offshore Brazil in the BC-10 block (Parque das Conchas field development). The FPSO Espirito Santo is owned and operated by a joint venture between SBM Offshore and MISC, and leased to the BC-10 Joint Venture, operated by Shell, with partners Petrobras Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) and ONGC Campos Ltda (ONGC).The Parque das Conchas project presented many challenges to successful execution of the surface host facility. These challenges include the ability to receive, process and offload heavy crude ranging from 16-42 API grade and incorporation of unique design features into the hull to increase environmental protection and prolong the life of the 1975 converted VLCC hull. The water depth of 1780 meters and demands of the complex subsea infrastructure, which relies on continuous surface supplied power and circulated oil at critical stages, required careful consideration during execution. Finally, the selection of Steel Catenary Risers (SCRs) dictated a new design for the riser interface in the turret. The facility represents the first application of SCRs tied back to a turret moored FPSO.This paper provides a summary of the FPSO Espirito Santo design, fabrication, transportation, installation and start-up. The unique design aspects and technical challenges faced during the project execution phase for FPSO delivery are outlined. Subjects discussed include: execution planning; process facilities; hull and marine work scope; mooring system; and riser/umbilical interfaces with the host.The methodologies selected for overcoming the key technical challenges are presented. For processing produced oil covering a wide API grade range, including low API grade heavy oil, the use of multiple process trains with input heat is detailed. The hull systems include the use of cargo tank heating for offloading of heavy crude and utilize stabilized crude as ballast to prolong the hull service life. Dedicated hull tanks for subsea flow assurance fluids (methanol and light crude) also form part of the hull design, while sponsons have been incorporated during conversion of the single hull VLCC to provide double sided protection. The turret design required the application of novel concepts to accommodate the interface with SCRs and high voltage swivels to meet the subsea equipment power demands.

Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading Unit: A Contingency Operating Mode Using Variable Frequency Drives

“…VFDs are commonly applied to FPSO units in Brazilian pre-salt oil wells, as shown in [27], [32]- [34]. Around the world, other similar applications are shown in [35]- [39].…”

Reassessment of Multiphase Pump on Field-Case Studies for Marginal-Deepwater-Field Devolopments

“…The 1980s experienced such developments as the first diverless subsea tree and production system, the Highlander field subsea slug catcher, the Argyll subsea separator, and the British Offshore Engineering Technology Company (Songhurst and Eyre 1990). The 1990s and 2000s saw such developments as Good Fellow Associates subsea production system in Alpha Thames, Kvaerner's subsea booster station, Glass Bardex (Santana Lima et al 2011), the Vertical Annular Separation and Pumping System (VASPS) developed by Petronas, DEEPSEP Mai and Petronas, ABB COS WAS, subsea separation in Perdido (Vu et al 2009;Gilyard and Brookbank 2010), Pazflor (Eriksen et al 2012), and Parque des Conchas (BC-10) (Deuel et al 2011;Howell et al 2010). Furthermore, the 2000s experienced such projects as Troll, Tordis (Gjerdseth et al 2007), and Pazflor (Bon 2009), and advances in subsea compression, power transmission, and generation.…”