Oil produced from offshore
production platforms are transported to
the mainland either by pipeline or by
tanker. When a tanker solution is chosen, it is necessary to accumulate oil
in some form of tank, then the need for a FPSO(Floating Production Storage and Offloading) unit.
FPSO Definiton
An
FPSO system is an offshore production facility that is
typically ship-shaped and stores crude oil in tanks located in the hull of the
vessel. The crude oil is periodically offloaded to shuttle tankers or
ocean-going barges for transport to shore. Moored
permanently at a certain location at sea, these Floating Production Storage
and Offloading (FPSO) units should be able to survive the most critical
environmental conditions occurring. In recent years FPSOs
have become the major floating production units for shallow and deep water
in mild and harsh environments.
Advantages of FPSO
An FPSO system has the capability to carry out some
processes of oil production therefore obviating the need for such
facilities to be located on an oil platform.
FPSOs 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 fixed oil platform. Once the
field is depleted, the FPSO can be moved to a new location.